1 LIBRARY  OF  THE  N 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


331.0973 

J39v 

1891 


Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below.  A 
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University  of  Illinois  Library 


THE 


VOICE  OF  LABOR 

CONTAINING 


Special  Contributions  by  Leading  Workingmen  throughout  the 
United  States,  with  Opinions  of  Statesmen  and  Legis- 
lators upon  the  Great  Issues  of  the  Day. 


PLAIN  TALK  BY  MEN  OF  INTELLECT 

ON 

LABOR’S  RIGHTS,  WRONGS,  REMEDIES 

AND  PROSPECTS, 


History  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  their 
Aims,  Usefulness,  Etc. 

The  Political  Future  of  the  Workingman, 


THE  QUESTIONS  OF  LAND,  LABOR,  CAPITAL,  TRANSPORTA- 
TION, REFORM,  PROGRESS  AND  SOCIAL  CONDITION 
OF  THE  WORKINGMAN  THOROUGHLY 
INVESTIGATED. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  FARMERS’  ALLIANCE. 


REVISED  AND  ENLARGED. 

By  8.  M.  JELLEY. 


Illustrated  with  Fine  Portraits  and  Engravings. 


H.  J.  SMITH  & CO.: 
PHILADELPHIA.  CHICAGO.  KANSAS  CITY. 
SAN  FRANCISCO. 

1891. 


Entered  according:  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1888,  by 
H.  J.  SMITH  & CO., 

In  the  Office  of  the  .Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


2_\  BO 9,  N\3vx|s  SV’SOWN'?) 


351.0313 
3 3°W 

\^>c\\ 


PUBLISHERS’  PREFACE. 


*r  has  been  said  that  the  literature  of  an  age  is 
but  the  reflex  of  the  times,  and  The  Voice  of  Labor 
is  not  an  exception.  The  labor  movement  has  been 
a great  theme  for  both  the  people  and  the  press 
during  the  last  few  years,  and  in  consequence  there 
has  risen  a demand  for  literature  upon  the  subject. 

The  workingman  of  to-day  seeks  to  understand 
the  economics  which  govern  his  financial  condition, 
yet  beyond  the  speeches  of  the  men  at  the  head  of 
his  organizations,  the  labor  press  and  a few  so-call- 
ed labor  books,  the  sources  of  knowledge  in  this 
direction  tending  to  his  benefit,  are  comparatively 
limited. 

In  order  to  present  the  various  phases  of  the 
great  problem,  as  viewed  by  reformers,  we  have 
secured  from  those  prominently  identified  with  the 
labor  movement,  from  statesmen,  editors,  writers 
and  workingmen,  much  of  the  material  made  use 
of  by  the  author. 

A candid  exposition  of  facts  concerning  the  wel- 
fare of  the  wealth-producing  classes,  and  of  the 
methods  by  which  they  can  remedy  the  wrongs  that 
prevent  them  from  bettering  their  condition,  cannot 
prove  to  be  other  than  a valuable  source  of  benefit 
and  instruction. 


139703 


AUTHOR’S  PREFACE. 


The  readers  who  will  best  appreciate  the  contents 
of  this  book  are  those  who  are  not  biased  by  false 
ideas,  and  those  who  have  given  social  science  and 
the  labor  question  some  thought.  For  an  exhaust- 
ive work  upon  each  phase  of  the  question  the  pages 
of  a score  of  volumes  would  be  required,  therefore, 
I have  dealt  only  with  the  greater  causes  and  reme' 
dies  of  the  problem. 

The  request  of  the  publishers  for  the  opinions  of 
those  interested  in  the  labor  movement  met  with 
response  of  such  a heterogeneous  character,  in 
which  so  many  diverse  views  were  expressed,  that 
to  determine  on  the  best  selection  seemed  well-nigh 
a hopeless  task. 

Careful  consideration,  however,  with  the  broad 
principle  of  justice  to  all  as  a guide,  enabled  me  to 
choose  such  matter  as  will  be  approved  by  all  un- 
prejudiced minds.  My  aim  has  been  to  avoid  the 
propaganda  of  anarchists  and  communists,  and  to 


AUTHOR  S PREFACE. 


11 


present  only  the  economics  of  trustworthy  authors 
and  those  who  have  the  elevation  and  improvement 
of  the  workingman  sincerely  at  heart. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  following  pages  I am 
especially  indebted  to  many  contributors,  among 
whom  are: 

Hon.  Jesse  Harper,  Danville,  111. 

Alfred  Taylor,  Ed.  Sentinel,  Birmingham,  Ala. 
W.  D.  Yincent,  Clay  Center,  Kan. 

Prof.  J.  W.  Gaul,  Monmouth,  111. 

J.  R.  Sovereign,  Atlantic,  la. 

Hon.  William  Baker,  Newark,  O. 

John  Davjs,  Junction  City,  Kan. 

Henry  Schaidt,  Ed.  Lonaconing  Review,  Md. 
Col.  D.  S.  Curtiss,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Albert  Owen,  Boston,  Mass.,  Author  of  Integral 
Co-Operation. 

J.  J.  Woodall,  Hartselle,  Ala. 

Hon.  A.  J.  Streeter,  New  Windsor,  111. 

R.  F.  Rowell,  Orrington,  Me. 

Hon.  John  Seitz,  Tiffin,  O. 

S.  M.  Baldwin,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Hon.  O.  W,  Barnard,  Manteno,  111. 

N.  M.  Lovin,  Muskogee,  Ind. 

C.  T.  Parker,  Douglasville,  Ga. 

G.  W.  Phl^lippo,  Geneseo,  111, 

Dr.  H J.  Parker,  Clayton,  111. 

O.  J.  Sutton,  Akron,  O. 

W-  H.  Robb,  Creston,  la, 


Ill 


author’s  preface, 

G.  R.  Williams,  Milan,  Mich. 

W.  W.  Jones,  Camargo,  111. 

W.  H.  Davidson,  Calera,  Ala. 

Charles  Sears,  Williamsburg,  Kan. 

R.  C.  McBeath,  Bradsfordsville,  K y. 

D.  W.  Smith,  Lewiston,  Me. 

H.  B.  Stack,  Birmingham,  Ala. 

James  Mitchell,  Ed.  Fort  Wayne  Dispatch,  Ind. 
A.  A.  Beaton,  Dockland,  Me. 

David  Ross,  Oglesby,  111. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Breidenthal,  Chetopa,  Kan. 

Hon.  Henry  Smith,  Milwaukee,* Wis. 

F.  P.  Sargeant,  Terre  Haute,  Ind. 

G.  W.  Johnson,  Ed.  Advance,  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 

And  a number  of  others,  whose  valuable  material 
has  been  unavailable  because  of  limited  space. 

S.  M.  J. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I.— A GLANCE  AT  THE  PAST. 

THE  FIRST  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  WORKINGMAN  IN  ENG- 
LISH HISTORY HIS  POSITION PHYSICAL  CONDITION 

—THE  ‘ 6 BLACK  DEATH  ” THE  PEASANTS5  WAR  IN 

1381 THE  STRUGGLES  OF  SERFDOM THE  WORKING- 

MAN IN  AMERICAN  COLONIES-^THE  SPIRIT  OF  LIBER- 
TY  PROGRESS  OF  LABOR  AFTER  THE  REVOLUTIONARY 

WAR YEARS  OF  PEACE  AND  PLENTY THE  GREAT 

REBELLION THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MANUFACTURING 

TABLE  OF  WAGES  FROM  1752  TO  1886 THE  UP- 
RISING OF  THE  FARMERS— THE  GRANGE RAPID  IN- 
CREASE OF  THE  POWER  OF  CAPITAL THE  EVENTS  OF 

1886 LABOR  A POWERFUL  SOCIAL  FACTOR 15 

CHAPTER  II.— LAND  AND  TAXES. 

LAND  MONOPOLY  THE  BANE  OF  THE  WORLD— ITS  EFFECT 

in  the  past — Egypt’s  downfall — golden  babylon 

CRUSHED  BY  LAND-OWNERS THEY  RUIN  THE  ROMAN 

EMPIRE IMPROPER  MANAGEMENT  OF  OUR  PUBLIC  DO- 
MAIN  VAST  TRACTS  OF  VALUABLE  LAND  GIVEN  TO 

CORPORATIONS — TWENTY  MILLIONS  OF  ACRES  HELD  BY 


CONTENTS. 


FOREIGNERS — POWDERLY  ON  BONANZA  FARMS — HENRY 

George’s  theories — his  book,  “progress  and  pov- 
erty”  HIS  POSITION  DEFINED THE  UTOPIAN  IDEA 

OF  CONFISCATION PROF.  W.  T.  HARRIS  ON  GEOR- 

GEISM — GROUND  RENT — STATISTICS — CAPITAL’S  GRIP 

AT  THE  THROAT  OF  LAND  PROPERTY TAX  THE  RICH 

AS  WELL  AS  THE  POOR HOW  JUST  ASSESSMENTS  MAY 

BE  MADE 26 

CHAPTER  III.— THE  GREAT  QUESTION  OF 
MONEY  AND  LABOR. 

THE  PROBLEM  WHICH  ALL  NATIONS  ARE  CONSID- 
ERING  WEALTH  RIGHTFULLY  BELONGS  TO  THE  PRO- 
DUCER  ECONOMISTS  AND  THE  PRECIOUS  METALS 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MONEY MONETARY  STANDARDS 

OF  DIFFERENT  NATIONS THE  GOLD  STANDARD THE 

SILVER  STANDARD THE  DOUBLE  STANDARD HIS- 
TORY OF  BANKING RISE  OF  THE  NATIONAL  BANKS 

OPINIONS  OF  STATESMEN LABOR  AND  CAPITAL 

THE  WAGE  FUND  PRINCIPLE PROFITS  AND  WAGES 

THE  ATTITUDE  OF  LABOR INFLATION  OF  CURRENCY 

HON.  ALFRED  TAYLOR’S  REMARKS DANIEL  WEB- 
STER ON  LABOR MONEY  THE  GREAT  HUMAN  BLESS- 
ING  VOLUME  OF  MONEY LINCOLN’S  IDEAS HORACE 

GREELY BURKE THE  NEW  ISSUES  OF  TO-DAY.  . . 45 

CHAPTER  I Y.  —GOVERNMENT  LOANS  TO 
THE  PEOPLE. 

MAN  SHALL  EARN  HIS  BREAD  BY  THE  SWEAT  OF  HIS 

BROW INTEREST  AND  USURY THE  MOSAIC  LAW — 

THE  POWER  OF  INTEREST — ILLUSTRATIONS LOANS  TO 


CONTENTS. 


Ill 


THE  PEOPLE  A FEASIBLE  PROJECT THE  GOVERNMENT 

LOANS  TO  THE  BANKERS — LOANS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  AT  A 
LOW  RATE  WOULD  BE  A BLESSING — HOW  THE  FARM- 
ERS WOULD  SECURE  PROSPERITY MILLIONAIRES  AND 

PAUPERS  ARE  INCREASING REGULATION  OF  THE  VOL- 

UME of  money — Garfield’s  theory — total  na- 
tional DEBT HYPOCRITICAL  POLITICIANS USURY 

NOTHING  MORE  THAN  ROBBERY 64 

CHAPTER  Y.— THE  NATIONAL  BANKING 
SYSTEM. 

THE  MONETARY  CHANGE  DEMANDED  BY  WORKINGMEN 

AIM  OF  THE  KNIGHTS  OF  LABOR SOULLESS  CORPOR- 
ATIONS HAVE  NO  PITY ATTITUDE  OF  BANKING  COR- 

PORATIONS— “ SPECIE  BASIS  ” — “ INTRINSIC  VALUE  ” 

— “ HONEST  MONEY” MONEY  IN  ANCIENT  AGES — 

IRON,  BRASS,  TIN,  CLOTH,  LEATHER  AND  WOODEN 

MONEY GREAT  FINANCIERS  ON  METALIC  MONEY — - 

HOW  THE  NATIONAL  BANKS  ABSORB  THE  NATION’S 
WEALTH DEBT  THEIR  FOUNDATION HOW  THE  BANK- 
ERS SECURE  DOUBLE  INTEREST ENORMOUS  SUMS  OF 

MONEY  WITHDRAWN  FROM  JUST  TAXATION THE  IM- 

MENSE EARNINGS  OF  THE  INDIANAPOLIS  NATIONAL 
BANK — WHAT  WORKINGMEN  SHOULD  HAVE 86 

CHAPTER  VI.—1 TRANSPORTATION. 

GOVERNMENT  PREROGATIVES  DANGEROUS  IN  THE  HANDS 

OF  CORPORATIONS NO  ONE  CLASS  INDEPENDENT 

CORPORATIONS  NOT  ENTITLED  TO  DISCRIMINATION 

THE  COUNTRY  SUFFERING  FROM  RAILROAD  EXTOR- 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


TIONS WHAT  THE  BALLOT  SHOULD  ACCOMPLISH 

THE  TELEGRAPHS TELEPHONES RAILROADS THE 

GOVERNMENT’S  SUCCESS  WITH  THE  POSTAL  SYSTEM 

THE  POWER  OF  SYNDICATES  AND  CORPORATIONS — 

THEIR  IMMENSE  WEALTH DANIEL  WEBSTER’S  GREAT 

WARNING .101 

CHAPTER  YII “ OVERPRODUCTION.” 

THERE  CAN  BE  NO  OVERPRODUCTION  WHEN  MONEY  IS 

PLENTY SCARCITY  OF  MONEY  PRODUCES  STRIKES  AND 

RIOTS WHY  MONEY  IS  WITHDRAWN  FROM  CIRCULA- 

TION'— Lincoln’s  warning  in  1861 — overproduct- 
ion DOES  NOT  STARVE  CHILDREN INTEREST  ON  BONDS 

A GREAT  VAMPIRE  TO  THE  NATION BONDS  TAXED  IN 

ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE GEN.  WEAVER  ON  TAXATION 

THE  INTER-STATE  COMMERCE  LAW REPORT  OF  THE 

SILVER  COMMISSIONERS  PLAIN  FACTS  SHOWING 

MADE  BY  UNITED  STATES  TREASURER  IN  1887  OF  THE 
NATION’S  MONEY IDLE  CAPITAL  MAKES  IDLE  MA- 
CHINERY AND  THE  WORKINGMAN  SUFFERS 115 

CHAPTER  VIII.— HARD  TIMES. 

THE  KNIGHTS  OF  LABOR  AT  RICHMOND A COMMITTEE 

ON  HARD  TIMES THEIR  REPORT THE  INTRICACIES 

OF  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WEALTH AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE 

SUBJECT — SENATOR  SHERMAN’S  IDEAS  IN  1869 — JOHN 

A.  LOGAN’S  THEORY THE  UNITED  STATES  TREASURER 

IN  1820 JOHN  STUART  MILL,  THE  GREAT  ENGLISH 

ECONOMIST SIR  ARCHIBALD  WILSON SECRETARY 

M’CULLOCH  BOUTWELL THE  BURNING  OF  $100,- 


CONTENTS. 


Y 


000,000 PETER  COOPER  ON  INDUSTRIAL  DEPRESSION 

THE  FLUCTUATION  OF  FINANCES  THE  CAUSE  OF  HARD 

TIMES A STEADY  STANDARD  A FIRM  FOUNDA- 
TION   131 

CHAPTER  IX.— HARD  TIMES— Continued. 

THE  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  SOCIETY MONEY  EARNERS 

AND  MONEY  USERS  THE  PREDATORY  STRATUM 

LAWS  FOR  THE  CONTRACTION  OF  MONEY  VOLUME 

7 YEARS  OF  SHRINKAGE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES THE 

PRACTICAL  QUESTIONS  OF  TO-DAY,  LAND,  LABOR,  FI- 
NANCE AND  TRANSPORTATION  THE  DECISION  OF 

JUDGE  GRESHAM  IN  THE  WABASH  RAILROAD  CASE 

THE  KNIGHTS  OF  LABOR  AN  ORDER  OF  PEACE  AND 
EDUCATION 14.8 

CHAPTER  X.— WAGES. 

WAGES  A SUBJECT  OF  VAST  IMPORTANCE GREAT  NA- 
TIONS ARE  NOW  DEALING  WITH  IT THE  ECONOMICS 

OF  WAGES  INDUSTRIAL  CONDITIONS  INCESSANTLY 

CHANGE A TABLE  OF  STATISTICS THE  PROGRESS  OF 

WAGES ECONOMY  DOES  NOT  DEMAND  LOW  WAGES 

WHAT  HIGH  WAGES  WILL  DO HON.  WILLIAM  WALSH 

ON  WAGES  — - INCREASE  OF  CAPITAL  DEMANDS  IN- 
CREASE OF  LABOR TO  PROTECT  LABOR  A SACRED  DU- 
TY  DR.  PARKER  ON  REGULATION  OF  WAGES CO-OP- 

ERATION THE  ULTIMATUM  OF  PRODUCTIVE  INDUS- 
TRY  157 


VI 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  XI. — ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS 
OF  TRADES  UNIONS. 

THE  DISCLOSURE  OF  HISTORY ANTIQUITY  OF  COMBINA- 
TIONS BY  WORKINGMEN THE  OLD  GUILDS  OF  EUROPE 

THE  FIRST  AUTHENTIC  ORGANIZATIONS — THE  POW- 
ER OF  ORGANIZATIONS  SIX  HUNDRED  YEARS  AGO- — 

THE  CRUELTIES  PRACTICED  IN  ENGLAND THE  SECRET 

OF  THEIR  STRENGTH UNION S HAVE  ELEVATED  WAGES 

WORKINGMEN  CANNOT  BE  TOO  WELL  PAID — UNION 

MEN  THE  BEST  WORKMEN LITERATURE  FOR  LABOR 

UNIONS  ARE  EDUCATING  WORKINGMEN THEIR  GREAT 

FUTURE 173 

CHAPTEK  XII.— AMERICAN  LABOR  UNIONS 

THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  TRADE  UNION  - — JOURNEYMEN 

SHIPWRIGHTS NEW  YORK  TYPOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY 

FIRST  LABOR  PARTY FRANKLIN  SOCIETY  OF  PRINT- 
ERS  NATIONAL  TYPOGRAPHICAL  UNION — THE  INTER- 
NATIONAL  HAT  FINISHERS IRON  MOULDERS ME- 

CHANICAL ENGINEERS  OF  AMERICA — BROTHERHOOD  LO- 
COMOTIVE ENGINEERS LOCOMOTIVE  FIREMEN CIGAR 

MAKERS — BRICKLAYERS  AND  STONEMASONS PATRONS 

OF  HUSBANDRY — GRANGE RAILWAY  CONDUCTORS 

BOOT  AND  SHOEMAKERS  GERMAN-AMERICAN  TYPO- 
GRAPHICAL— HORSE-SHOERS IRON  AND  STEEL  HEAT- 
ERS   GRANITE  CUTTERS LAKE  SEAMEN BOILER 

MAKERS  — - CARPENTERS  AND  JOINERS HAT  MAKERS 

MINERS  AND  MINE  LABORERS BAKERS SWITCH- 
MEN   TAILORS TELEGRAPH  MEN FURNITURE 

COOPERS — ETC. ETC 184 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 


CHAPTER  XIII.— THE  KNIGHTS  OE 
LABOR. 

THE  CAUSE  OF  THEIR  ORGANIZATION THE  GREAT  POW- 
ER OF  THE  ORDER URIAH  STEVENS,  THE  FOUNDER 

EARLY  HISTORY STRUGGLES ATTACKED  BY  PUL- 
PIT AND  PRESS ITS  GROWTH CHARACTER  OF  ITS 

MEMBERS WHO  THEY  ARE — PRESENT  NUMBER A 

SEMI-SECRET  ORDER  THEIR  PREAMBLE  AND  PLAT- 
FORM OF  PRINCIPLES MANNER  OF  JOINING WHO 

ARE  ELIGIBLE LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS  OF  THE 

KNIGHTS LOCAL,  DISTRICT  AND  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES 

PASS-WORDS,  SIGNS  AND  GRIPS WOMEN  AS  MEM- 
BERS  INTERESTING  INFORMATION BIOGRAPHY  OF 

MR.  POWDERLY THE  OFFICERS— THE  EXECUTIVE  COM" 

MITTEE A DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MANAGEMENT.  .193 

CHAPTER  XI Y.  —STRIKES  AND  LOCK- 
OUTS. 

A CAUSE  OF  RECENT  STRIKES  WHY  WORKINGMEN 

STRIKE STATISTICS  OF  STRIKES  IN  1880 SUCCESSES 

AND  FAILURES — COMPLETE  REVIEW  OF  THEIR  EFFECT 

AMOUNT  OF  LOSS  INCURRED  AGGREGATE  LOSSES 

IN  APRIL  AND  MAY,  1886  PUBLIC  SYMPATHY  FOR 

STRIKERS — POWDERLY  ON  STRIKES GREAT  THOUGHTS 

THE  POWER  OF  WEALTH  GIVING  WAY  TO  JUSTICE 

AND  RIGHT  A NEW  POWER  DAWNING  UPON  THE 

WORLD A BRIGHT  FUTURE  AT  HAND IDEAS  FOR 

WORKINGMEN  TO  THINK  AND  ACT  UPON 210 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XY.— EIGHT  HOURS. 

EFFECT  OF  THE  EIGHT  HOUR  AGITATION — NUMBER  OF 

MEN  IN  THE  MOVEMENT  IN  1886  THE  BENEFITS 

CLAIMED LABOR  NOT  A COMMODITY A BIRDS-EYE 

VIEW  OF  THE  WORKING  WORLD THE  AGENTS  OF 

CORPORATIONS EXACTIONS  ARE  FETTERS — APPEALS 

AND  MUTTERED  DISCONTENT A GREAT  PLEA THIRST 

FOR  KNOWLEDGE  SHOULD  BE  GRATIFIED ROBERT  G. 

INGERSOLL’S  ELOQUENT  WORDS  ON  THE  SUBJECT 

HOURS  OF  LABOR  SHOULD  BE  SHORTENED 228 

CHAPTER  XVI.—  ARBITRATION. 

ARBITRATION  NOT  AN  EXPERIMENT — THE  JUSTINIAN  LAW 
— ENGLISH  AND  ROMAN  LAW — JUDICIAL  BOARDS  OF 

ARBITRATION PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND’S  MESSAGE  ON 

THE  QUESTION RICHARD  GRIFFITHS,  G.  W.  F. , ON 

ARBITRATION GEORGE  RODGERS FRENCH  COURTS 

OF  ARBITRATION  HOW  THE  GREAT  BRICKLAYERS* 

STRIKE  IN  CHICAGO  WAS  SETTLED JUDGE  TULEY’s 

DECISION— ARBITRATION  JUST  FOR  EMPLOYER  AND 
WORKINGMEN — THE  SCALES  OF  JUSTICE  A TRUE  BAL- 
ANCE  238 

CHAPTER  XVII.— CO-OPERATION. 

ALL  GREAT  ENTERPRISES  DEPEND  ON  CO-OPERATION — 
A COMMON  OBJECT  IS  A COMMON  ADVANTAGE — OR- 
GANIZATION AND  CO-OPERATION  A GREAT  POWER 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


WAGE  SYSTEM  OPPOSED  TO  CO-OPERATION CO-OPER- 
ATION A SUCCESS LECLAIRE’S  GREAT  ORGANIZATION 

RAILROAD  CO-OPERATION  IN  FRANCE INDUSTRIAL 

PARTNERSHIP  IN  ENGLAND ALFRED  TAYLOR  ON  THE 

SUBJECT D.  S.  CURTISS DEVELOPMENT  AND  EXTENT 

OF  CO-OPERATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES COMPLETE 

REVIEW  OF  WHAT  HAS  BEEN  DONE 253 

CHAPTER  XVIII.  — HOME  THE  PALLADIUM 
OF  SOCIETY. 

MAN  WITHOUT  A HOME  AN  OUTCAST THE  STATE  IS  BUT 

THE  INDIVIDUAL,  THE  INDIVIDUAL  A MINIATURE  STATE 

HOME  THE  BULWARK  OF  VIRTUE CICERO’s  MAXIM  - 

DEFECTS  OF  OUR  SOCIAL  SYSTEM THE  BURDEN  OF 

INDIRECT  TAXATION HANDWRITING  ON  THE  WALL 

CO-OPERATION  A BLESSING  FOR  THE  PEOPLE SUCCESS 

OF  CORPORATIONS  4 4 SWEET  HOME  ” CAN  BE  MADE 

A REALITY WISDOM  FOR  THE  HOMELESS 274 

CHAPTER  XIX.— PRISON  LABOR. 

A GREAT  QUESTION HOW  CONVICTS  ARE  EMPLOYED 

OCCUPATIONS  IN  VARIOUS  PRISONS  WORKING  FOR 

THE  STATE  THE  CONTRACT  SYSTEM THE  LEASE 

• PLAN — E.  C.  WINES  ON  THE  CONTRACT  SYSTEM ITS 

EFFECT ABUSES SHOULD  BE  ABOLISHED LEASES 

AND  FAULTS  THEREOF 57,500  CONVICT  WORKMEN 

PITTED  AGAINST  HONEST  LABOR  DR.  SEAMAN’S 

VIEWS  DEMANDS  OF  THE  PUBLIC  — CARROLL  D. 

wright’s  report — prison  labor  must  not  con- 
flict WITH  INTERESTS  OF  THE  WORKINGMAN.  . . 290 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEK  XX. — LIQUOR  AND  THE  WOKK- 
IXGMAN. 

THE  ENORMOUS  AMOUNT  OF  MONEY  EXPENDED  FOR  LI- 
QUOR  MR.  POWDERLY  ARRAIGNS  THE  DRUNKARD 

HIS  POWERFUL  SPEECH  AT  LYNN,  MASS. HOW  LIQUOR 

PRODUCES  POVERTY FIFTEEN  MILLION  PEOPLE  SPEND 

SEVEN' HUNDRED  MILLION  DOLLARS  ANNUALLY  FOR 

LIQUOR LIQUOR  COSTS  THE  PEOPLE  THREE  TIMES  AS 

MUCH  AS  CLOTHING — INTEMPERANCE  A CURSE  TO  THE 
WORKINGMAN 302 

CHAPTER  XXI.— THE  FARMER  AND  HIS 
INTERESTS. 

CAPITAL  DRIFTING  AWAY  FROM  AGRICULTURE  THE 

LABOR  QUESTION  LINKED  WITH  THE  FARMER HON. 

W.  F.  SADLER  BEFORE  THE  GRANGE AN  ABLE  DIS- 

COURSE — A STARTLING  ARRAY  OF  FACTS  AND  FIG- 
URES  THE  AVARICE  OF  CAPITAL — MR.  JOHN  NORRIS 

ON  RAILROAD  MONOPOLY  CHARLES  SEARS5  MEAS- 
URES  A BALEFUL  WARNING MR.  CHARLES  SEARS5 

EXPOSITION  OF  TRUTHS  - — PUBLIC  CARRIERS  AND 
MONEY  LOANERS  ARE  ABSORBING  CAPITAL A PEACE- 

FUL MODE  OF  ADJUSTMENT — MEASURES  AND  REME- 
DIES  UNITED  EFFORT  BY  REFORM  PARTIES  NEC- 
ESSARY TO  SUCCESS LABOR  ASCENDING  THE  THRONE 

OF  POLITICS 313 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


CHAPTER  XXII.— FOREIGNERS  AND  FOR- 
EIGNERS. 

THE  IMMIGRATION  OF  TO-DAY  A GREAT  EVIL 500,000 

IMMIGRANTS  IN  1887 OFFICIAL  FIGURES OYER 

8,000,000  ALIENS  IN  THIS  COUNTRY A FLOOD  OF 

PAUPERS  AND  CRIMINALS  TAINTING  THE  NATION 

H.  H.  BOYESEN  ON  UNRESTRICTED  IMMIGRATION THE 

EVIL  OF  ANARCHY  AND  COMMUNISM  ONE  OF  THE 

CURSES  OF  THE  FOUL  STREAM SUMMARY  LEGISLATION 

A JUST  DEMAND  OF  WORKINGMEN  AMERICAN  LA- 

BOR MENACED  BY  FOREIGN  IMMIGRATION  HOSTILE 

SENTIMENT  THROUGHOUT  THE  LAND A QUESTION  OF 

THE  DAY 327 

CHAPTER  XXIII.— THOUGHTS  OF  TO-DAY. 

HON  . JOHN  SEITZ LABOR  ENTITLED  TO  FIRST  CONSID- 
ERATION— OPINIONS  OF  R.  F.  ROWELL HON.  GEORGE 

L.  WELLINGTON HON.  JESSE  HARPER  HON.  O.  W. 

BARNARD H.  E.  BALDWIN HON.  ALF.  TAYLOR N. 

v M.  LOYIN C.  B.  FENTON C.  T.  PARKER REY.  DR. 

THOMAS G.  W.  PHILLIPPO  O.  J.  SUTTON — W.  H. 

ROBB J.  D.  HARDY W.  W.  JONES COM.  MINERS 

AND  MINE  LABORERS W.  H.  DAVIDSON R.  C.  MC- 

BEATH D.  W.  SMITH N.  B.  STACK HON.  WILLIAM 

BAKER JAMES  MITCHELL HON.  A.  J.  STREETER 

the  notorious  HAZARD  CIRCULAR  — a.  a. 
BEATON 339 

CHAPTER  XXIV.— SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES. 


VIEWS  OF  DAVID  ROSS THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  THE  LABOR 

PROBLEM OUT  OF  AGITATION  COME  MANY  BENEFITS 


Xll 


CONTENTS, 


EDUCATION  IS  REQUIRED  FOR  ADVANCEMENT THE 

MASSES  ARE  THINKING REFORM  PARTIES UNION 

LABOR  PARTY  IN  THE  VAN ORGANIZATION  THE 

WATCHWORD  HON.  J.  W.  BREIDENTHAL BRIGHT 

PROSPECTS  WEST,  NORTH,  SOUTH  AND  EAST LABOR 

IN  POLITICS WITH  ORGANIZATION  AND  COMMON  PUR- 
POSE SUCCESS  IS  CERTAIN A PLATFORM  BROAD 

ENOUGH  FOR  ALL  IS  NEEDED HON.  HENRY  SMITH 

FUTURE  OF  THE  WORKINGMAN CONCLUSION.  . . . 358 

CHAPTER  XXY.  — THE  FARMERS’  AL- 
LIANCE. 

EARLY  STRUGGLES  OF  THE  FARMERS’  ALLIANCE  ITS 

RULES ITS  PROGRESS ADVANTAGES  OF  CO-OPER- 
ATION  THE  TEXAS  CHARTER — THE  NATIONAL  AL- 
LIANCE   PREAMBLE  EDUCATION  FUNDAMENTAL 

TO  GOOD  GOVERNMENT BUSINESS  MATTERS POL- 
ITICAL MATTERS GENERAL  REMARKS WOMEN  OF 

THE  ALLIANCE 375 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


T.  Y.  PoWDERLY,  - 

Frontispiece. 

Kichard  Griffiths,  - 

- 37 

Frederick  Turner, 

65 

Charles  H.  Pitchman, 

- 79 

Hon.  W.  D.  Yincent, 

93 

Hon.  Henry  Smith,  - 

- 107 

J.  K.  Sovereign,  - 

121 

Hon.  William  Baker, 

- 135 

A Miner’s  Cottage, 

149 

Happy  Toilers, 

- 165 

Coal  Under  Different  Aspects, 

179 

Honest  Tom  Makes  a Speech, 

- 187 

Uriah  Stephens, 

205 

Between  Strike  and  Family, 

- 221 

Locomotive  Works, 

231 

Bricklaying, 

- 245 

Knife,  Fork  and  Spoon  Workers, 

257 

A Happy  Home, 

- 269 

xiv 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Midnight  Fires — Blast  Furnaces,  - 281 

Hay  Making  in  the  Olden  Times,  - - 295 

Bottle  Blowers,  - 307 

Hon.  John  Seitz,  - - - - 321 

Bessemer  Steel  Manufactory,  - • 333 

Mining  in  Colorado,  - 343 


THE 


VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  I. 


A GLANCE  AT  THE  PAST. 

THE  FIEST  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  WORKINGMAN  IN  ENG- 
LISH HISTORY HIS  POSITION PHYSICAL  CONDITION 

THE  “BLACK  DEATH” THE  PEASANTS’  WAR  IN 

1381 THE  STRUGGLES  OF  SERFDOM THE  WORKING- 
MAN IN  AMERICAN  COLONIES THE  SPIRIT  OF  LIBER- 
TY  PROGRESS  OF  LABOR  AFTER  THE  REVOLUTIONARY 

WAR YEARS  OF  PEACE  AND  PLENTY THE  GREAT 

REBELLION THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MANUFACTURING 

TABLE  OF  WAGES  FROM  1752  TO  1886 THE  UP- 
RISING OF  THE  FARMERS THE  GRANGE RAPID  IN- 
CREASE OF  THE  POWER  OF  CAPITAL THB  EVENTS  OF 

1886 LABOR  A POWERFUL  SOCIAL  FACTOR. 

The  workingman  first  appears  in  English  history 
in  the  character  of  a serf,  or  slave.  He  owned 
neither  land,  cattle,  nor  goods,  but  was  wholly  de- 
pendent upon  his  lord,  who  furnished  him  with  shel- 
ter, food  and  clothing,  and  in  return  was  entitled  to 
his  services  and  was  responsible  for  his  conduct. 


16 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


He  belonged  to  the  estate,  and  if  the  land  changed 
ownership,  he  followed  it  and  served  under  the  new 
lord.  He  had  no  civil  rights,  neither  for  or  against  any 
one,  save  through  the  lord  of  the  manor.  His 
physical  condition  was  one  of  comparative  ease  and 
plenty,  as  he  was  well  fed  and  housed.  When  not 
working  for  his  lord  he  was  at  liberty  to  cultivate 
his  garden,  gather  fuel  from  the  manor  forest  and 
devote  his  time  to  his  family. 

This  condition  was  not  absolute,  for  he  might  ac- 
cumulate a little  money,  purchase  a piece  of  land  and 
thus  free  himself.  If  he  was  able  to  master  a trade, 
as  a mechanic  he  received  higher  pay  than  a serf, 
but  in  other  respects  he  stood  on  the  same  footing. 
In  towns  and  cities  he  had  no  civil  rights  until  he 
acquired  property  and  entered  the  guild  of  his  craft. 
He  then  could  set  up  on  his  own  account  and  em- 
ploy journeymen  and  hold  apprentices.  By  custom 
and  law  he  was  held  to  be  a man  of  an  inferior 
caste,  and  the  unfortunate  stigma  has  followed  him 
dywn  through  the  centuries. 

At  this  time  the  capitalist,  or  lord,  was  not  actuated 
by  hostile  feelings,  nor  did  he  in  any  way  seek  to 
oppress  him,  but  as  the  serf  was  virtually  his  prop- 
erty lie  protected  him  for  the  sole  purpose  of  avoid- 
ing his  loss.  Wages  was  a pretext  for  a quarrel  at 
any  time,  just  as  it  is  to-day. 

In  1349  a terrible  plague  swept  over  Europe  from 
the  orient,  and  in  England  its  devastation  was  hor- 
rible. The  “Black  Death” marked  the  era  of  free- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


17 


dom  for  the  serf.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  entire  pop- 
ulation was  swept  away,  and  labor  assumed  the  phase 
of  being  the  most  important  element  in  the  king- 
dom. Laborers  demanded  quadruple  pay  and  dic- 
tated their  own  terms.  The  historic  “ Statute  of 
Laborers”  was  passed,  and  then  began  the  antago- 
nism between  capital  and  labor. 

In  1381  the  Peasants’  war  broke  out  and  the  in- 
surgents captured  the  city  of  London.  They  de- 
manded of  the  king:  “We  will  that  you  make  us 
free,  our  heirs  and  our  lands,  and  that  we  be  no 
more  bond,  nor  so  reputed.”  The  king  promised 
them  freedom,  but  when  parliament  met  it  sternly 
refused  to  fulfill  the  promise.  In  an  unanimous  vote 
they  declared  “they  would  rather  perish  altogether 
in  one  day.”  The  strife  continued  and  coercive 
laws  were  constantly  passed.  The  laborer  was  for- 
bidden to  leave  his  place  or  travel  without  a pass- 
port, and  in  1391  parliament  was  petitioned  to  for- 
bid the  children  of  the  base-born  to  attend  the 
schools.  The  land-owners  finally  gave  up  the  at- 
tempt to  employ  serf  labor,  and  rented  small  farms 
to  tenants  for  a fixed  rent  to  be  paid  in  money.  At 
the  end  of  fifty  years  serfdom  was  a thing  of  the 
past,  and  the  statutes  which  had  been  passed  for  the 
regulation  of  wages  became  obsolete. 

^ The  wages  of  workmen  soon  became  more  than 
enough  for  a comfortable  support,  and  his  day  of  work 
was  eight  hours.  With  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII,  after  a period  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 


18 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


years,  legislation  again  oppressed  him,  and  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  he  struggled  against  laws 
which  tended  only  to  the  interests  of  the  rich.  An 
extravagant  royalty  swallowed  millions  of  money, 
and  the  prosperous  workman  became  a beggar  with 
a starving  family.  In  1601  the  English  Poor  Law 
was  passed,  but  it  failed  to  accomplish  a benevolent 
end. 

Meanwhile  the  discovery  of  America  had  electri- 
fied the  old  world,  and  settlements  were  made  here. 
During  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  follow- 
ing the  discovery  of  America  in  1492,  the  territory 
of  the  Atlantic  states  and  the  West  Indies  were  in- 
fested by  adventurers.  Their  purposes  were  the 
gathering  of  the  precious  metals,  trading  with  the 
natives  for  furs,  and  the  locating  of  fishing  banks 
from  which  food  might  be  obtained  for  Europe.  The 
Basques,  from  France,  and  other  Celtic  nations,  vis- 
ited the  banks  of  Newfoundland  to  fish,  several  hun- 
dred years  before  the  time  of  Columbus. 

In  1607,  Jamestown,  Virginia,  was  occupied  by 
the  English,  and  developed  into  a permanent  settle- 
ment in  1610.  Colony  after  colony  secured  foot- 
holds on  the  Hudson,  along  the  coast  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  in  what  are  now  the  Atlantic  states.  Be- 
ligious  and  political  oppression  in  Europe  stimulated 
the  tide  of  emigration,  and  the  new  world  began  to 
live.  Up  to  this  time  actual  industrial  settlements 
had  not  materialized.  The  class  of  people  who  first 
came  to  America  were  those  who  sought  gold,  or 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


19 


conquest,  and  the  majority  of  them  were  banished 
criminals.  Later  during  the  seventeenth  century, 
people  of  a different  stamp  were  driven  to  seek  a 
new  home  across  the  Atlantic,  and  the  colonists  gain- 
ed a new  element  of  thoughtful  and  religious  cast. 

The  French  and  Indian  war  came  and  passed, 
leaving  the  Virginian  colonists  aware  of  the  weak- 
ness of  English  troops  in  the  peculiar  warfare  inci- 
dent to  the  border,  and  the  feeling  was  prevalent 
that  the  colonial  Assembly  was  composed  of  strong 
and  fearless  men.  The  colonists  although  loyal, 
desired  to  conduct  their  affairs  in  their  own  way. 
Conscious  of  their  strength  they  felt  their  own  im- 
portance and  were  quick  to  resent  any  acts  of  inter- 
ference on  the  part  of  the  mother  country.  Parlia- 
ment sought  to  maintain  a standing  army,  to  en- 
force certain  navigation  laws  and  to  tax  the  colo- 
nists to  contribute  to  the  financial  burdens  of  the 
empire.  The  execution  of  these  laws  in  the  way  of 
the  stamp  act,  and  other  revenue  laws,  led  to  the  un- 
ion of  the  scattered  colonies,  resistance  to  England, 
to  war  and  to  the  successful  upholding  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  In  this  country 
the  white  workman  has  never  been  subjected  to 
the  hardships  and  deprivations  which  disgrace  the 
pages  of  England’s  history,  but  has  always  been  po- 
litically the  peer  of  any  one.  Land  was  free  to  all 
and  it  rested  upon  himself  whether  he  occupied  and 
made  use  of  it  for  his  support.  He  quickly  learned 
to  rely  upon  his  own  efforts  and  grew  self-reliant  and 


20 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


independent  with  the  exercise  of  his  natural  rights. 
Unhampered  by  the  fetters  of  conscienceless  legis- 
lation, and  with  the  pride  and  knowledge  which  is 
inseparable  from  full  citizenship,  the  workingman  de- 
veloped. the  germ  of  American  independence,  and 
the  spirit  which  prompted  the  determination  to  throw 
off  the  English  yoke  was  given  birth. 

The  colonial  era  laid  out  the  plan  of  the  Ameri- 
can land  system,  which  began  with  royal  claims,  and 
ended  with  speculation  and  actual  conquest.  The 
chief  feature  of  the  land  polity  seemed  to  be,  that 
each  man  strove  to  get  as  much  land  as  he  could, 
and  if  he  chose  to  retain  his  possessions,  his  family 
should  inherit  it.  Tenure  was  based  upon  privilege 
and  human  rights  were  a secondary  consideration, 
yet  the  spirit  of  liberty  was  strong,  and  the  system 
did  not  take  on  the  Old  World  form  of  primogeni- 
ture. In  England  the  feudal  land-owners  struggled 
with  the  chattel -holders,  and  their  differences  were 
carried  to  the  colonies.  It  was  from  these  materi- 
als that  American  tenure  was  molded. 

Had  no  aristocracy  existed  in  England  slavery 
would  not  have  been  introduced  in  America.  Indi- 
gent dependents  of  aristocracy  sought  riches,  and 
being  unwilling  to  work  themselves,  and  unable  to 
employ  free  labor,  they  took  the  negro.  Labor  was 
wofully  scarce,  and  as  the  expense  of  securing  it 
from  England  was  great,  the  natural  consequence 
was  the  cheaper  course  of  importation  of  slaves. 
Slavery,  however,  did  not  materially  interfere  with 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


n 


free  labor  in  other  than  the  cotton,  cane  and  tobacco 
districts,  and  never  secured  noticeable  foothold  north 
of  the  Ohio  river. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  still  a 
better  class  of  people  came  from  Europe  who  brought 
with  them  the  pioneer  spirit  which  has  always  mark- 
ed American  enterprise.  Statistics  show  that  the 
wages  of  the  workingman  began  an  upward  tendency 
and  his  welfare  made  decided  progress.  The  dis- 
counted Continental  money  was  replaced  by  a valu- 
able circulating  medium,  and  financial  confidence 
■was  resumed.  As  late  as  1780  labor  was  not  organ- 
ized, nor  at  that  time  was  organization  demanded. 
The  undeveloped  resources  of  the  vast  area  of  till- 
able land,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  seaboard, 
continually  drew  the  surplus  population  from  the 
growing  cities  and  towns,  and  high  wages  was  the 
natural  result.  The  farm  constituted  an  admirable 
regulator  from  a wages  point  of  view.  The  tide  of 
immigration  steadily  flowed  on  toward  the  great 
western  prairies,  the  valleys  west  of  the  Alleghanies 
became  thickly  settled,  and  the  workingman  pros- 
pered everywhere. 

Amid  this  era  of  peace  two  irreconcilable  theories 
of  government  clashed,  and  the  great  war  of  the 
rebellion  began.  While  the  fierce  contest  was  in 
progress,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  were  taken 
away  from  the  factories,  the  farms,  and  from  all 
kinds  of  business.  The  armies  drained  the  country 
of  its  labor,  and  the  inevitable  sequence  was  that 


22 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


wages  fluctuated  with  each  succeeding  day.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  labor  prospered.  In  1866  over  six 
hundred  millions  worth  of  public  lands  were  sold, 
and  a large  part  of  our  population  was  engaged  in 
preparing  for  substantial  prosperity.  A protective 
tariff  gave  an  immense  impetus  to  manufacturing 
industries,  and  in  the  eastern  states  their  develop- 
ment wak  remarkable.  The  eastern  states  not  hav- 
ing the  fertility  of  soil  found  in  the  west,  capital  in- 
stinctively gravitated  toward  profitable  manufactur- 
ing, and  soon  found  mechanical  industry,  backed  by 
tariff,  to  be  the  most  reliable  and  satisfactory  of  in- 
vestments. Farm  life  in  New  England  gave  way  to 
life  in  the  factory,  and  we  now  see  our  Atlantic  sea- 
board transformed  from  an  agricultural  into  that  of 
a manufacturing  region.  This  method  of  centralizing 
capital  has  in  a great  measure  taken  labor  from  the 
farm  to  the  workshop,  and  a constant  premium  has 
been  offered  to  the  mechanic.  To  this  fact  may  be 
attributed  the  prodigious  growth  of  cities  during  the 
past  twenty-five  years,  and  it  is  especially  noticea- 
ble in  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston. 
Everywhere  it  may  be  seen  that  the  planting  of  a 
factory,  or  mill,  is  followed  by  the  erection  of  a 
cluster  of  houses  which  grows  into  a a lnre,  then 
a town  is  formed,  and  the  town  finally  becomes  a 
city. 

High  pay  to  workingmen  surely  follows  Ihe 
growth  of  cities.  Since  1752  the  mechanic’s  pay 
has  increased  from  thirty-three  cents  per  day  tc  one 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


23 


dollar  and  forty-five  cents  per  day,  but  the  farm 
worker  lias  always  been  paid  at  a lower  rate.  An 
examination  of  the  following  table  will  give  the 
reader  a good  idea  of  the  fluctuation  of  the  prices 
paid  during  the  last  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
years: 

Farmwork  Mechanical  Farmwork  Mechanical 


Year. 

Wages. 

Wages. 

Year. 

Wages. 

Wages. 

1752.. 

..$  .33 

$ .33 

1845.. 

..$1.00 

$1.25 

1756.. 

. . .33 

.48 

I860.. 

..  1.06 

1.50 

1763. . 

.s.  .33 

.35 

1864.. 

..  1.12 

1.33 

1770.. 

..  .33 

.34 

1870.. 

..  1.15 

1.50 

1781.. 

. . .41 

.46 

1875.. 

..  1.00 

1.35 

1790.. 

..  .33 

.40 

1878.. 

..  .94 

1.21 

1801.. 

..  .57 

.61 

1880.. 

..  ,90 

1.20 

1810.. 

..  1.00 

1.10 

1884.. 

..  .92 

1.30 

1820 •• 

.75 

1.00 

1886.. 

..  .96 

1.45 

1826.. 

oo 

t- 

1.00 

The  foregoing  tabulated  statement  unerringly 
shows  the  effect  of  the  investment  of  capital  upon 
the  rate  of  wages  paid  in  cities,  and  lays  open  the 
secret  of  their  constant  increase  in  population. 
There  are  now  thirty-six  cities  in  the  United  States 
with  inhabitants  numbering  over  fifty  thousand. 

One  great  result  of  the  civil  war  was  to  bring  free 
labor  to  its  present  condition  and  rate  of  wages, 
by  doing  away  with  the  antagonism  incident  upon 
cheap  slave  labor.  It  was  first  thought  the  South 
was  hopelessly  involved  in  ruin,  but  the  contrary 
has  proved  true,  and  that  region  is  securing  larger 


24 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


returns  to-daj  for  the  amount  of  capital  invested 
than  it  did  under  the  control  of  wasteful  and  brutal 
overseers.  The  period  following  the  war  was  one 
of  excessive  inflation.  The  greenback  dollar  reach- 
ed its  lowest  value  in  1864,  at  which  time  a gold 
dollar  could  be  sold  for  $2.85  in  paper,  but  it  grad- 
ually ascended  in  value,  and  in  1879  it  reached  par, 
and  since  has  been  worth  a dollar  in  gold,  through 
the  resumption  of  specie  payment. 

In  1866  the  Granger  movement  began,  and  had 
for  its  object  the  financial  benefit  of  the  farmer.  I 
combatted  the  monopolies  of  railroads  and  corpora- 
tions, and  so  popular  was  this  agitation  that  in 
1875  the  order  had  nearly  800,000  members.  The 
rapid  increase  of  the  power  of  capital  in  America 
is  without  parallel  in  any  other  country  in  the 
world,  and  the  manner  in  which  gigantic  syndicates 
and  railroad  corporations  have  pursued  their  objects 
has  been  watched  with  much  solicitude  by  the  farm- 
ers, workingmen,  and  others,  whose  interests  have 
been  prejudiced.  The  fact  that  an  enormous  amount 
of  money,  gained  by  dishonest  financiering,  has 
been  invested  in  transportation  industries,  and  as 
the  earnings  of  this  vast  amount  of  capital  finally 
come  upon  the  workingman  and  farmer  to  pay, 
they  have  become  dissatisfied.  Watered  stock  and 
jobbing  pools  have  created  a burden  under  which 
the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  nation  are  restive,  and 
they  have  combined  against  it,  as  was  evinced  by 
the  events  of  1886,  in  the  great  southwestern  strike 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABGK. 


25 


on  the  Gould  system  of  railroads.  The  Knights  of 
Labor  have  been  rapidly  perfecting  their  organiza- 
tion throughout  the  United  States,  and  as  the  order 
is  seeking  redress  of  grievances  by  means  of  legis- 
lation, the  outlook  is  that  they  will  act  as  a power- 
ful factor  in  shaping  the  industrial  welfare  of  the 
country  during  the  next  few  years. 


26 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  II. 


LAND  AND  TAXES. 

LAND  MONOPOLY  THE  BANE  OF  THE  WORLD ITS  EFFECT 

in  the  past — Egypt’s  downfall — golden  babylon 

CRUSHED  BY  LAND-OWNERS THEY  RUIN  THE  ROMAN 

EMPIRE IMPROPER  MANAGEMENT  OF  OUR  PUBLIC  DO- 
MAIN  VAST  TRACTS  OF  VALUABLE  LAND  GIVEN  TO 

CORPORATIONS TWENTY  MILLIONS  OF  ACRES  HELD  BY 

FOREIGNERS POWDERLY  ON  BONANZA  FARMS HENRY 

George’s  theories — his  book,  “progress  and  pov- 
erty”  HIS  POSITION  DEFINED THE  UTOPIAN  IDEA 

OF  CONFISCATION — PROF.  W.  T.  HARRIS  ON  GEOR- 

GEISM GROUND  RENT — STATISTICS CAPITAL’S  GRIP 

AT  THE  THROAT  OF  LAND  PROPERTY TAX  THE  RICH 

AS  WELL  AS  THE  POOR HOW  JUST  ASSESSMENTS  MAY 

BE  MADE. 

The  right  to  the  soil  is  as  much  an  inalienable 
right  as  that  of  working  for  bread.  Depriving  a 
man  of  either,  is  a violation  of  both  moral  and  sec- 
ular laws.  Land  monopoly  is  shown  by  history  to 
be  the  bane  of  the  world.  Great  nations  have  risen, 
ruled  and  fallen,  and  in  each  instance  the  lesson  has 
been  taught,  that  when  such  burdens  have  been  laid 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  27 

upon  the  masses,  and  were  deprived  from  earn- 
ing bread  from  the  soil,  their  doom  was  sealed. 

Back  in  the  dim  distance  of  time!  we  see  Egypt 
the  proudest  and  most  powerful  nation  on  the  globe. 
She  excelled  in  mighty  undertakings,  and  to-day  we 
marvel  at  the  ruins  of  her  vast  structures  which  have 
withstood  the  crumbling  touches  of  scores  of  cen- 
turies. 

The  great  pyramid  of  Gizeh  is  the  grandest  mon- 
ument of  human  history,  the  mightiest  building  on 
earth  and  the  oldest — in  structure  a miracle,  in  ex- 
tent almost  incomprehensible.  Forty  centuries  have 
looked  upon  its  glittering  sides,  and  the  tooth  of 
time  during  all  these  rolling  centuries  has  not  been 
able  to  eat  away  the  grandeur  of  the  pile. 

An  oppressive  land  monopoly  rule  worked  the 
fall  of  Egypt.  One  per  cent  of  the  people  owned 
all  the  land,  and  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  people 
owned  none — were  tenants,  serfs  and  slaves.  Then 
Egypt  died,  and  her  death-dirge  rings  yet  in  the  ear 
of  the  world. 

The  golden  glory  of  Babylon,  with  its  city  the 
most  magnificent  man  ever  built,  was  cursed  with  a 
class  land  monopoly  which  was  its  death  warrant. 
Two  per  cent  of  the  people  owned  all  the  land,  and 
ninety-six  per  cent  of  the  masses  owned  none,  and 
were  tenants,  slaves  and  serfs. 

In  a speech  recently  delivered  by  Hon.  Jesse 
Harper,  he  said: 

“The  founding,  growth  and  glory  of  the  Roman 


28 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


empire  lias  been  the  wonder  of  the  world.  Begotten 
in  myth,  fed  upon  the  ferocity  of  the  wolf,  led  by 
intellect  of  man,  she  grew  to  be  at  last  the  palladium 
of  law  and  the  legionry  war.  Her  ‘ Twelve  Tables’ 
underlie  the  codes  of  all  civilization  to-day.  Her 
military  prowess  has  been  the  admiration  of  man- 
kind. Her  works  in  every  department  of  human 
thoughf  and  action  are  unsurpassed.  Acqueduct, 
temple,  forum,  each  stand  unparalleled.  Theater, 
hippodrome,  drama — in  these  she  leads  all. 

“Home  has  been  termed  ‘The  Eternal  City.’  From 
that  center  has  gone  forth  blandishments,  political 
chicanery,  ecclesiastical  Jesuitism,  and  they  for  ages 
upon  ages  have  ruled  the  world. 

“Rome  in  her  highest  glory,  was  simple  in  habit 
and  austere  in  manner.  There  was  but  a slight  dis- 
tinction between  the  people.  ‘Citizen’  was  the  name 
of  man.  Equality  of  fortune,  generous  distribution 
of  land  was  the  law  of  common  consent,  and  the 
legal  enactments  of  the  state  also. 

“So  rich  in  achievement  was  she  at  onetime,  that 
eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  people  had  title  in  land. 
Then  the  legions  were  heroes  beyond  conquering; 
then  Rome  was  founded  on  a rock.  She  but  follow- 
ed the  course  of  the  great  empires  which  had  pre- 
ceded her.  In  the  incipiency  of  them  all  justice 
ruled  and  mercy  reigned  more  largely  than  at  any 
other  period  of  their  life.  But  as  the  nations  before 
her  turned  from  those  true  principles  of  equity  and 
justice,  in  the  day  of  their  degeneracy,  so  did  Rome 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


29 


She  traveled  the  same  road  to  the  same  death,  to 
certain  destruction.  In  what  way? 

“Her  volume  of  money  at  the  commencement  of 
this  era  was  about  $1,800,000,000,  made  up  of  brass, 
copper,  and  other  metals.  This  was  doomed  to  de- 
struction. She  determined  to  shrink  the  volume  and 
make  the  lesser  volume  of  a finer  metal.  So  she 
shrunk  the  volume  to  $200,000,000.  A long  time 
was  consumed  in  doing  it,  but  the  road  was  passed 
over,  the  goal  reached. 

“The  fatal  effect  upon-  the  empire  came  at 
last;  and  Home  fell  by  reason  of  this  very  shrink- 
ing of  the  volume  of  money.  The  lands  passed  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  people  into  the  hands  of  the  few 
millionaires,  so  that  when  death’s  great  ford  was 
reached,  where  civilization  was  to  die,  we  see  that 
two  thousand  people  owned  all  the  land  in  the  Ro- 
man empire.  Less  than  one  per  cent  of  the  people 
owned  all,  and  more  than  ninety-nine  per  cent  owned 
none.” 

Land  monopoly,  a shrinking  volume  of  money 
and  class  legislation  made  up  the  decree  of  national 
dissolution.  History  chronicles  a repetition  of  such 
events,  but  there  lies  in  experience  an  opportunity 
to  avert  them  in  the  future. 

During  the  past  two  decades  there  has  been  no 
proper  management  of  public  lands,  but  our  national 
legislators  have  actually  given  away  to  corporations, 
in  a spirit  of  prodigality  without  parallel  in  the 
world’s  history,  more  land  than  is  contained  in 


30 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


the  states  of  Illinois,  Iowa,  Ohio  and  Michigan  com- 
bined. Only  a few  years  ago  the  line  of  states- 
men now  retiring,  gave  to  one  corporation  in  Amer- 
ica forty-eight  millions  of  acres  of  land. 

There  is,  in  the  state  of  Iowa,  but  thirty-five  mill- 
ions of  acres;  in  the  state  of  Illinois  but  thirty-six 
millions  of  acres.  And  yet,  there  was  given  to  one 
corporation  forty-eight  millions  of  acres  of  land. 
And  that,  too,  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  within  a 
score  of  years  we  will  have  on  this  continent  one 
hundred  millions  of  human  beings.  We  have  sixty 
millions  now;  we  will  have  a hundred  millions 
then. 

The  tendency  has  been  to  throw  large  estates  in- 
to the  hands  of  a few  people,  and  to  dispossess  the 
poor,  the  small  land  owners  of  the  country. 

Millions  of  acres  comprising  the  best  agricultural 
land  on  the  earth  have  been  thus  disposed  of,  until 
there  is  over  twenty  millions  of  acres  held  by  foreign 
capitalists.  Ireland’s  pitiful  condition  to-day  was 
brought  about  by  a similar  course  of  events. 

General  Master  Workman  Powderly  says:  “ In 

the  United  States, ' although  scarcely  out  of  its 
squatting  era,  we  already  have  an  incipient  land- 
holding  aristocracy,  which  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  the  bonanza  farms  of  the  west,  where  work  is  to  a 
great  extent  done  by  machinery  and  a horde  of  tramp 
agricultural  laborers.  There  are  in  this  country  over 
one  million  five  hundred  thousand  of  capitalists,  or 
speculating  owners,  who  have  their  farms  tilled  by 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


31 


hired  workers.  Nearly  one  hundred  thousand  of  these 
land  barons  hold  from  five  hundred  to  thous- 
ands of  acres  each.  We  have  one  million  ten- 
ant renters,  almost  as  many  as  there  are  in  Great 
Britain,  cultivating  one-fourth  of  our  farms,  and 
three  million  three  hundred  and  twenty  four  odd 
thousand  wage  workers  who  do  not  even  rent  land. 
Of  the  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  of  real 
farmers  who  either  wholly,  or  in  part,  themselves  cul- 
tivate  their  holdings,  it  is  estimated  that  forty  per 
cent  have  their  farms  mortgaged  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  really  pay  a rent  in  interest.  In  many  indus- 
tries we  already  have  a system  of  pooling  and  com- 
bination to  which  the  much-denounced  union  tyran- 
ny and  that  of  the  terrible  walking  delegate  can  not 
hold  a candle.  Until  lately,  in  all  but  a few,  even 
the  best  organized  workers  could  hardly  counteract 
the  terror  of  the  ticket-of-leave-plan,  by  virtue  of 
which  it  was  impossible  for  the  blacklisted  unfortu- 
nate to  obtain  employment.” 

Among  the  numerous  writers  on  the  land  question, 
Mr.  Henry  George  has  attracted  much  attention.  In 
his  admirably  written  book,  ‘‘Progress  and  Pover- 
ty,” he  has  endeavored  to  show  that  the  great  cause 
of  the  inequality  in  the  distribution  of  wealth  lies  in 
the  unequal  ownership  of  land.  In  all  probability 
Mr.  George  wrote  his  book  between  the  years  of 
1873  and  1879, when  he  saw  the  evil  results  of  over- 
importations together  with  a contraction  of  our  cur- 
rency. Unfortunately  he  erred  in  divining  the 


32 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


causes  of  the  country’s  depression  and  thereby  erred 
in  the  remedy. he  advocates.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  ruin  will  throttle  the  nation  if  our  broad  acres 
fall  into  the  hands  of  a few  landlords,  but  that  time 
will  never  come.  Even  though  certain  speculators 
and  corporations  have  succeeded  in  securing  an  ille- 
gal right  to  vast  acres  of  land,  there  is  no  danger 
o their  being  able  to  work  other  than  local  incon- 
venience. 

He  asks,  “Why,  in  spite  of  increase  in  produc- 
tive power,  do  wages  tend  to  a minimum  which  will 
give  but  a bare  living  % ” The  question  is  an  idle 
one,  for  wages,  salaries  and  remuneration  of  all  kinds 
have  steadily  risen,  notwithstanding  fluctuations. 
At  the  end  of  each  decade  during  the  past  century 
there  has  been  more  and  more  to  divide — that  is, 
when  no  temporary  causes  overcame  the  general 
cause  of  financial  events.  Wages  do  not  tend  to  a 
minimum  but  we  find  them  generally  on  the  in- 
crease, and  to  his  proposition  that  “where  popula- 
tion is  densest,  wealth  greatest,  and  the  machinery 
of  production  and  exchange  most  highly  develop- 
ed,” we  say  there  is  not  “the  deepest  poverty,  the 
sharpest  struggle  for  existence  and  the  most  enforc- 
ed idleness.”  This  is  clear  the  moment  we  com- 
pare the  wTorkingman  of  fifty  years  ago,  with  the 
workingman  of  to-day. 

One  of  the  essential  ideas  of  the  Georgian  theory 
is,  that  in  as  much  “ as  in  the  nature  of  things  un- 
equal ownership  of  land  is  inseparable  from  the  re- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


33 


cognition  of  individual  property  in  land,  it  necessa- 
rily follows  that  the  only  remedy  for  the  unjust  dis- 
tribution of  wealth  is  in  making  land  common  prop- 
erty.” 

Mr.  George  proposes  to  tax  land  to  its  full  rental 
value,  and  defines  his  position  as  follows : 

“Let  me  declare  plainly  and  distinctly,  for  this  is 
a point  on  which  there  is  much  misapprehension 
and  misrepresentation,  that  we  do  not  propose  to 
have  the  state  take  the  land  from  its  present  owners 
and  divide  it  up  or  rent  it  out;  we  simply  propose 
to  make  such  a change  in  our  fiscal  system  as  will 
shift  the  burden  of  taxation  from  labor  and  the  pro- 
ducts of  labor,  to  land  values — the  value  attached 
to  land,  irrespective  of  the  improvements  upon  it; 
the  value  attached  to  land,  not  by  reason  of  what 
the  occupier  has  done,  but  by  reasons  of  the  growth 
of  the  community.  We  propose  to  reach  by  this 
easy  and  gradual  change,  the  end  at  which  we  aim, 
and  that  aim  is,  that  the  man  who  enjoys  the  privi- 
lege of  holding  a piece  of  land  that  the  growth  of 
the  community  has  made  valuable,  shall  pay  to  the 
community  what  the  special  privilege  is  worth,  and 
thus  all  citizens  be  placed  upon  an  equal  footing. 
When  this  is  done,  or  even  as  we  approach  it,  it 
will  become  unprofitable  for  anybody  to  hold  land 
without  using  it,  in  the  expectation  of  becoming  rich 
by  the  value  which  attaches  to  it  from  the  growth 
of  the  community.  Land  will  become  profitable 
only  to  those  Tyho  want  to  use  it.  Thus  the  dog  in 


84 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


the  manger  will  be  choked  off,  and  from  the  vacant 
lots  of  our  eastern  cities  to  the  great  tracts  held  on 
speculation  in  the  far  west,  opportunities  for  employ- 
ment will  be  thrown  open  to  labor  and  forestalling 
be  prevented.” 

The  Utopian  idea  of  confiscating  or  nationalizing 
land,  is  shown  in  its  true  light  by  Prof.  W.  T.  Harris, 
who  exposes  the  sophistry  of  this  Georgian  theory, 
and  demonstrates  that  the  claims  concerning  the 
advantage  to  be  gained  by  taxing  land  excessively, 
are  false  and  hollow.  He  says: 

“Mr.  George  evidently  supposes  that  a revenue 
equal  to  the  total  land-rent  of  the  country  would  con- 
stitute a vast  fund,  for  he  says:  ‘There  would  be 
a great  and  increasing  surplus  revenue  from  the  tax- 
ation of  land  values,  for  material  progress,  which 
would  go  on  with  greatly  accelerated  rapidity,  would 
tend  constantly  to  increase  rent.  This  revenue  aris- 
ing from  the  common  property  could  be  applied  to 
the  common  benefit,  as  were  the  revenues  of  Sparta.  ’ 

“Mr.  George  is  bound  to  suppose  that  the  ag- 
gregate amount  of  ground-rent  is  a very  large  sum, 
because  he  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  land  ab- 
sorbs, in  the  form  of  rent,  all  the  increased  produc- 
tion of  labor,  aided  by  capital  in  the  shape  of  labor- 
saving  inventions.  If  ground-rent  produces  pover- 
ty, by  robbing  capital  and  labor,  its  confiscation 
would  restore  enough  to  labor  and  capital  to  remedy 
the  evil.  What  is  the  actual  amount  of  this  item  of 
rent  in  the  United  States  ? 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


35 


“The  reader  of  ‘Progress  and  Poverty’  is  struck 
with  the  fact  that  the  book  contains  no  statements 
derived  from  painstaking  inquiries  into  the  statistics 
of  land  values  and  rents.  The  book  is  eloquent  and 
effective,  its  author  evidently  an  earnest  and  disin- 
terested philanthropist.  But  his  theories  all  relate 
to  numbers  of  population,  rates  of  wages,  prices  of 
food,  amounts  of  rent,  and  the  ratios  of  these  num- 
bers to  one  another.  These  are  not  a priori  ques- 
tions, but  matters  of  statistics.  There  is  not  only 
no  investigation  of  statistics  in  ‘ Progress  and  Pov- 
erty,’ but  there  is  not  even  an  attempt  to  make 
definite  estimates,  although  there  are  occasional  re- 
ferences to  isolated  data.  If  it  should  be  found 
that  the  total  ground-rent  is  an  insignificant  item 
compared  with  the  total  income  of  the  nation,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  conclude  that  Mr.  George  is 
mistaken  in  supposing  that  private  property  in  land 
exercises  a power  to  rob  capital  and  labor. 

“The  United  States  census  for  1880  gives  the  to- 
tal assessment  of  real  estate  and  personal  property, 
as  determined  in  the  several  states  of  the  Union,  at 
$16,902,993,543,  of  which  $13,036, 76,6,925  stands 
for  real  estate,  distributed  in  such  a manner  that 
more  than  one-half  of  the  amount  is  assessed  in 
New  England  and  the  middle  states  (about  $6,714,- 
600,000).  ‘Real  estate,’  of  course,  includes  land 
and  improvements.  The  United  States  census  does 
not  give  the  items  for  land  alone,  but  the  state  of 
Massachusetts  publishes  an  aggregate  of  property 


36 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


and  taxes  showing  the  separate  items,  ‘land  exclu- 
sive of  buildings’  and  ‘buildings  exclusive  of  land.’ 
The  former  item  (land)  is  $587,824,672;  the  latter 
(buildings)  is  $752,669,001,  land  being  to  buildings 
nearly  44  to  56.  This  ratio  may  be  assumed  to  hold 
good  for  the  entire  eastern  and  middle  sections  of 
the  country,  giving  $3,766,000,000  for  buildings  and 
$2,948,000,000  for  ground.  In  the  southern  sec- 
tion it  may  he  assumed  that  the  ratio  is  reversed, 
and  that  the  $1,671,000,000  of  real  estate  assessed 
there  represents  $671,000,000  as  value  of  buildings 
and  $1,000,000,000  as  value  of  land.  In  the  West- 
ern States  and  Territories,  likewise,  the  total  of  $4,- 
644,000,000  of  real  estate  may  represent  at  least 
$2,000,000,000  as  value  of  buildings  and  not  more 
than  $2,644,000,000  as  value  of  land.  This  will 
give  a total  of  $6,437,000,000  for  buildings  and 
$6,592,000,000  for  building  sites  and  agricultural 
land.  The  rate  of  assessment  for  taxes  is  usually 
fixed  at  two-thirds  of  the  market  value.  Allowing 
for  this  the  actual  value  of  all  land  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  owned  as  private  property  must  have  been 
somewhat  less  than  ten  billions  (10,000,000,000) 
for  the  year  1880.  Counting  the  rent  on  this  land 
at  4 per  cent  we  have  less  than  $400,000,000  per  an- 
num, making  an  average  of  nearly  $8  for  each  in- 
habitant, or  a little  more  than  two  cents  per  day. 

“The  result  surprises  us.  Two  cents  per  day,  or 
$8  per  year,  added  to  their  income  would  not  bring 
ease  and  luxury  to  those  who  are  struggling  with 


RICHARD  GRIFFITHS, 
General  Worthy  Foreman,  K.  ot  JL 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


39 


poverty.  Nor  would  it  amount  to  a vast  revenue  in 
the  aggregate  as  a tax.  Four  per  cent — and  it  is 
fair  to  estimate  the  return  in  rent  as  under  this  fig- 
ure, because,  when  land  yields  more  than  this 
amount  in  rent,  the  valuation  is  at  once  raised — 
would  give  the  government  only  $400,000,000, 
a sum  only  slightly  in  excess  of  the  amount  annually 
paid  for  local  taxes  (state,  county,  township,  and 
district),  while  the  total  of  taxation,  national  and  lo- 
cal, amounts  to  nearly  $800,000,000.  To  pay  all 
taxes,  both  national  and  local,,  ground-rent  would 
have  to.  be  increased  to  TJ  per  cent. 

“To  understand  the  bearings  of  this,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  consider  the  actual  annual  income  of  the 
total  population.  This  income  is  estimated  by  Mr. 
Edward  Atkinson,  in  his  4 Distribution  of  Products,’ 
at  the  round  sum  of  $10,000,000,000.  Mr.  Mul- 
hall  estimates  the  total  productions  of  the  United 
States  at  £1,420,000,000  sterling,  or  about  $7,100,- 
000,000.  The  items  used  for  these  estimates  are 
given  by  Mr.  Joseph  Nimmo,  Chief  of  the  National 
Bureau  of  Statistics  for  the  year  1884,  in  a letter  to 
Mr.  Atkinson,  as  follows  : 

Agriculture $3,600,000,000 

Manufactures... 5,369,579,911 

Illuminating  gas 30, 000, 000 

Mining 236,275,408 

Forestry 455,000,000 

Fisheries  . . 43,046,053 

Meat,  and  wool  clip  on  ranches. . . . 40,000,000 

Petroleum 44,000,000 

Total .$9,817,900,652 


40 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


“ But  in  the  above  estimate  the  manufactures  are 
given  the  gross  annual  value  of  manufactured  goods 
for  1880,  and  of  course  there  are  repetitions  of  the 
same  item  under  different  heads.  For  example,  lum- 
ber appears  as  product  of  saw-mills,  and  again  in  the 
items  of  wood  manufactures  and  buildings,  as  well 
as  in  the  inventory  of  products  of  forestry;  wool  and 
cotton  appear  first  among  the  agricultural  items, 
next  in  the  textile  productions,  and  lastly  as  items  in 
the  value  of  manufactured  clothing.  Hogs  are  call- 
ed a manufacture  under  the  names  of  pork,  lard,  and 
bacon;  cattle  appear  as  beef,  tallow,  hides,  leather, 
horns,  hair,  glue,  and  the  bones  and  blood  as  fertil- 
izers. 

“Deducting  the  materials  from  the  aggregateof 
manufactures,  as  given  in  the,  census  report,  the  net 
total  is  $1,972,755,542.  Moreover,  in  Mr.  JSiim- 
mo’s  statement  the  agricultural  product  is  increased 
by  the  total  of  live  stock,  which  is  rather  a product 
of  three  years  than  of  one — an  over  estimate  of  $1,- 
000,000,000.  Besides  this,  all  the  hay  crop  and 
three-fourths  of  the  Indian-corn  crop  go  to  the  rais- 
ing of  live  stock  and  are  already  reckoned  in  the 
increase  of  the  live  stock.  Deduct  for  these  items 
and  the  total  annual  product  appears  as  about  $6,000,- 
000,000.  But  there  is  a large  amount  of  produce 
consumed  in  the  farms  that  does  not  get  reported  in 
the  census  schedules.  Add  to  this  the  manufac- 
tures done  at  the  homes,  a considerable  item,  and 
the  earnings  of  the  railroads  in  so  far  as  they  en- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


41 


hance  prices  by  bringing  productions  to  tbe  place 
of  consumption,  and  the  actual  annual  income  may 
be  safely  placed  at  a little  over  seven  and  a quarter 
billions — say  $7,300,000,000.  This  would  give  40 
cents  per  day,  or  $146  per  year,  for  each  inhabitant. 
The  total  taxation,  national  and  local,  takes  four  and 
one-fifth  cents  per  day,  one-tenth  of  the  average  in- 
come. The  ground-rent  amounts  to  only  one-eight- 
eenth of  the  total  average  earnings.  If  this  would 
make  any  great  difference  in  the  wages  of  the  poor, 
it  is  certain  that  a small  grain  of  economy  would  go 
much  further. 

“ Capital  has  its  hand  at  the  throat  of  land  prop- 
erty, contrary  to  the  theory  of  Mr.  George,  who 
supposes  that  land  is  throttling  capital  and  labor. 
Capital  frees  labor  from  the  tyranny  of  land,  and 
the  present  ratio  of  land  to  the  total  wealth  of  the 
United  States  is  less  than  one  to  four.  In  the 
United  Kingdom  it  forms  only  one-fifth  of  the  total 
wealth,  being  only  £1,737,000,000  sterling,  with  an 
annual  rental  of  £65,442,000,  while  the  total  wealth 
is  £8,720,000,000. 

“Wages  seem  to  be  fast  receding  from  that  4 min- 
imum that  will  give  but  a bare  living.’  But  it  is  the 
wages  of  the  skilled  mechanics  and  manufacturers 
that  have  increased  most.  The  wages  of  farm  hands 
are  much  below  the  wages  of  those  engaged  in  man- 
ufacturing industries.  As  there  is  one  wage-earner 
to  three  persons,  or,  more  accurately,  to  2. 9 persons, 
it  is  clear  that  all  laborers  who  get  over  $1.35  per 


42 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


day,  or  $34.80  per  month,  get  more  than  they  would 
get  if  the  total  annual  production  were  divided 
equally  among  the  wage-earners  without  allowing 
anything  to  capital  or  land. 

“By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  all  our  skilled  labor- 
ers, and  a considerable  number  of  common  laborers, 
are  paid  now  at  higher  rates  than  a socialistic  divis- 
ion would  give  them.  All  who  are  receiving  over 
$34. 80  per  month  in  wages  are  on  the  side  of  the 
‘bloated  bondholder’  already,  and  cannot  complain 
of  land  or  capital  as  robbing  them  of  the  products 
of  their  labor.  Skilled  labor  in  the  mechanic  in- 
dustries gets  from  twenty  to  eighty  per  cent  more 
than  this  average.  But  the  farming  population  of 
the  country  get  from  twenty  to  eighty  per  cent  less. 
And  it  is  on  the  farming  population  that  the  burden 
of  a high  land  tax  would  fall  with  the  utmost  sever- 
ity. A seven  per  cent  tax  on  land  would  destroy 
our  agricultural  interests,  all  except  the  market  gar- 
dening. No  grain  could  be  exported,  and,  without 
a protective  tariff,  none  could  be  raised  for  the  home 
market.” 

To  assess  all  taxes  upon  real  estate  would  give 
the  government  immense  revenues  during  periods 
of  fluctuation  and  excitement,  the  use  of  which  would 
tend  to  evil  results,  and  leave  it  without  necessary 
revenue  during  times  of  depression  and  when  dis- 
bursements would  be  most  beneficial.  The  present 
laws  of  taxation  are  not  without  genuine  merit,  and 
were  they  executed  according  to  their  intent,  a just 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


43 


and  adequate  revenue  would  be  secured.  Any  and 
all  evils  which  may  be  current,  arise  from  the  fact 
that  true  assessments  are  not  made.  When  property 
is  justly  assessed  every  man  will  pay  a proper  tax, 
and  a sufficient  revenue  will  be  the  result.  The 
capitalist  will  pay  as  great  an  amount,  in  proportion 
to  his  possessions,  as  the  middle  class,  or  the  poor 
man. 

The  chief  obstacle  to  a fair  assessment  is  perjury. 
Many  a man  who  passes  for  honest  in  a community 
will  swear  to  a return  which  he  knows  is  false,  if  a 
sworn  statement  is  necessary  to  get  his  valuation 
down  to  a notch  satisfactory  to  himself.  The  amount 
of  this  kind  of  crime  committed  is  appalling.  The 
instances  of  punishment  are  so  very  few  that  the 
fear  of  the  penitentiary  is  too  remote  to  be  a deter- 
rent. 

A large  latitude  is  allowable  for  variation  in  es- 
timates, but  where  a stock  of  goods,  for  example, 
which  would  inventory  at  $20,000  is  sworn  to  be 
worth  only  $1,000,  the  perjury  is  too  flagrant  to  es- 
cape conviction  upon  a fair  presentation  of  the  case 
to  a jury.  The  vigorous  prosecution  of  such  crimi- 
nals would  do  more  to  reform  the  revenue  than  all 
the  legislation  devisable.  The  first  step  in  this  re- 
formatory direction  should  be  taken  by  these  town 
boards  of  review,  either  as  boards  or  individually. 
The  order  of  proceeding  is  not  important.  The 
knowledge  that  such  perjury  has  been  committed, 
however  obtained,  should  reach  the  grand  jury — or, 


44 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


to  be  more  exact,  the  grand  jury  should  have  suffi- 
cient ground  to  suspect  perjury  to  occasion  a call 
for  the  sworn  statement,  the  examination  of  which 
should  be  followed  up  by  an  investigation. 

Let  it  once  be  understood  that  the  law  means 
something  when  it  prescribes  a punishment  of  from 
one  year  to  ten  years  in  the  penitentiary  for  perjury 
in  ap  assessment  return,  and  an  era  of  reform  will 
follow  in  its  train.  The  boodler  who  steals  the 
public  money  has  a fellow-criminal  in  the  property- 
owner  who  evades  by  false  return  the  payment  of 
his  fair  share  of  the  common  tax,  and  no  cloak  of 
respectability  should  shield  either  from  the  penal 
consequences  of  his  crime.  In  a word,  the  town 
review  should  be  supplemented  by  a grand  jury  re- 
view, with  all  the  subsequent  proceedings  naturally 
following  in  the  train  of  grand  jury  work  faithfully 
done. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR, 


46 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  GREAT  QUESTION  OF  MONEY  AND 
LABOR. 

THE  PROBLEM  WHICH  ALL  NATIONS  ARE  CONSID- 
ERING—WEALTH  RIGHTFULLY  BELONGS  TO  THE  PRO- 
DUCER  ECONOMISTS  AND  THE  PRECIOUS  METALS 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MONEY MONETARY  STANDARDS 

OF  DIFFERENT  NATIONS THE  GOLD  STANDARD THE 

SILVER  STANDARD THE  DOUBLE  STANDARD HIS- 
TORY OF  BANKING RISE  OF  THE  NATIONAL  BANKS 

OPINIONS  OF  STATESMEN LABOR  AND  CAPITAL 

THE  WAGE  FUND  PRINCIPLE PROFITS  AND  WAGES 

THE  ATTITUDE  OF  LABOR INFLATION  OF  CURRENCY 

HON.  ALFRED  TAYLOR’S  REMARKS DANIEL  WEB- 
STER ON  LABOR MONEY  THE  GREAT  HUMAN  BLESS- 
ING  VOLUME  OF  MONEY LINCOLN’S  IDEAS HORACE 

GREELY BURKE THE  NEW  ISSUES  OF  TO-DAY. 

The  greatest  question  in  political  economy  is  that 
of  money  and  its  distribution.  It  is  now  the  prob- 
lem which  occupies  the  attention  of  the  statesmen  of 
England,  France,  and  Germany,  and  it  is  destined 
to  he  the  great  question  in  this  country. 

Political  economy  designates  the  laws  which  gov- 


46 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ern  the  accumulation  of  money,  but  its  distribution 
depends  largly  upon  legislation  and  custom.  Wealth 
created  by  the  workingman  in  these  times  has  a de- 
cided tendency  to  accumulate  in  the  coffers  of  in- 
dividuals and  corporations,  where  it  is  often  used 
for  the  oppression  of  the  laborer.  Naturally  wealth 
belongs  to  the  person  who  produces  it,  to  the  work- 
ingman, but  he  is  obliged  to  give  up  the  greater 
portion  of  it  to  the  non-producer,  or  capitalist. 

The  primary  idea  of  capital  is,  that  it  is  obtained 
by  giving  a service  whose  market  value  is  equal  to 
the  capital.  But  what  service  has  the  man  who  has 
accumulated  a hundred  million  dollars  in  his  own 
lifetime  performed  which  can  be  compared  in  value 
to  the  wealth  which  he  has  gained  ? There  is  no 
comparison  between  the  service  and  the  pay  of  such 
men,  and  this  is  becoming  more  and  more  clear 
to  the  laboring  millions.  The  man,  woman  or  child, 
who  earns  a livelihood  by  manual  labor  gets  too  lit- 
tle, and  the  smart  man  who  wins  a fortune  by  dex- 
terity gets  too  much.  The  wealth  of  the  world  is  too 
unevenly  distributed,  and  the  laborer  is  finding  it  out. 
What  if  he  should  make  a new  distribution  in  some 
future  day  as  the  common  people  of  France  did  in 
1793  ? 

At  present  there  is  little  fear  of  any  such  thing  in 
this  country,  because  of  the  vast  domain  of  unoccupied 
free  land  which  the  laborer  can  have  by  settling  it. 
But  the  lands  will  by-and-by  be  occupied,  and  at  a 
not  very  distant  day,  and  then  problems  will  arise 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


47 


in  this  country  more  difficult  to  solve  than  have 
ever  yet  arisen  in  Europe;  for  when  the  European 
hive  becomes  too  crowded,  the  surplus  laborers  can 
come  to  America  where  all  may  secure  a farm;  but 
when  there  is  no  more  land  to  grant,  then  will  come 
the  pinch. 

There  are  certain  characteristics  upon  which  the 
majority  of  political  economists  agree,  as  being  es- 
sential to  substances  used  for  money.  These  char- 
acteristics are  attributed  to  the  precious  metals — 
gold  and  silver. 

They  have  intrinsic  value,  besides  their  use  as 
money.  When  either  of  these  metals  are  demone- 
tized their  value  diminishes. 

Good  authorities  hold  that  being  simple  sub- 
stances, and  easily  transportable,  that  they  are  uni- 
versally of  the  same  value.  This  is  denied,  how- 
ever, by  eminent  writers,  and  it  is  obvious  that 
money  must  vary  with  the  scale  of  usual  prices. 

They  have  great  value  in  small  bulk. 

These  metals  are  indestructible,  and  they  wear  but 
little  with  constant  use. 

They  are  of  universal  use,  and  are  capable  of  be- 
ing stamped  as  to  mark  their  value. 

It  is  not  known  where  coinage  began,  but  it  is 
fairly  decided  that  it  was  in  Asia,  about  880  B.  C. 
Although  the  precious  metals  have  been  most  em- 
ployed for  money,  many  other  substances  have  been 
used,  viz.,  paper,  iron,  leather,  wheat,  tobacco, 
wood,  shells,  beads,  skins,  bark,  etc. 


48 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


The  monetary  standard  has  always  been  subject 
to  change,  and  is  an  open  question.  Some  countries 
have  fixed  upon  gold,  some  upon  silver,  and  others 
upon  both. 

Years  ago  Germany  adopted  silver,  and  has  re- 
cently chaiiged  to  gold.  The  single  standard  of 
silver  is  the  rule  with  Russia  and  Austria,  though 
they  have  no  specie  payment.  Nearly  all  of  Asia 
uses  silver  as  a standard,  as  do  a few  nations  on  the 
American  continent — in  all  about  one-third  of  the 
population  of  the  world. 

The  Latin  Monetary  Union — France,  Italy,  Bel- 
gium, Switzerland  and  Spain — adhere  to  the  double 
standard,  though  the  coinage  of  silver  has  been  re- 
stricted, and  for  a time  enjoined.  About  thirty 
years  ago  Holland  adopted  silver,  but  now  has  a gold 
standard. 

England  was  the  first  nation  to  try  the  experi- 
ment of  the  gold  standard,  sixty-nine  years  ago,  and 
it  now  exists  in  Australia,  South  Africa,  Egypt, 
Turkey,  Portugal,  and  in  the  Scandinavian  king- 
doms. The  United  States  adopted  gold  in  1873, 
but  returned  to  the  double  standard  in  1878.  In  all 
these  countries  silver  is  made  a legal  tender  for  a 
small  amount,  and  is  used  as  a subsidiary  coin. 

As  early  as  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  years 
before  the  Christian  era,  a banker  of  Sicyon,  a city 
of  Peloponnesus,  is  mentioned  by  Plutarch  in  his 
life  of  Aratus.  His  business  appears  to  have  con- 
sisted in  exchanging  one  species  of  money  for  am 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


49 


other.  The  money-changers  of  Judea,  who  were 
driven  out  of  the  temple  by  Christ,  were  most  prob- 
ably of  the  description  mentioned  by  St.  Matthew 
in  the  parable  of  the  talents — that  is,  such  as  made 
a trade  of  receiving  money  in  deposit,  and  paying 
interest  for  it.  St.  Luke,  in  his  relation  of  the 
same  parable,  expressly  alludes  to  a banking  estab- 
lishment. 

From  Judea  the  institution  of  banks  was  brought 
into  Europe;  and  the  Lombard  Jews  are  said  to 
have  kept  benches,  or  banks,  in  the  market 
places  of  Italy  for  the  exchange  of  money  and  bills. 
The  Bank  of  Venice,  which  was  the  first  foundation 
upon  an  enlarged  scale  that  we  are  acquainted  with, 
was  established  about  the  year  1171,  under  the  ap- 
pellation of  the  Chamber  of  Loans  (la  Camera  degl’ 
Imprestiti),  and  the  contributors  to  a forced  loan, 
that  had  been  raised  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  a Ve- 
netian war  with  the  emperors  of  the  East  and  West, 
were  made  creditors  of  the  Chamber,  from  which 
they  were  to  receive  an  annual  interest  of  four  per 
cent. 

At  what  period  the  knowledge  of  banking  was 
introduced  into  England  is  unknown,  though  it  may 
reasonably  be  conjectured  to  have  been  within  a 
short  time  after  the  conquest.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  of  its  having  been  first  practiced  here  by  the 
Italian  merchants,  all  of  whom,  who  were  engaged 
in  money  transactions,  were  distinguished,  both  in 
France  and  in  England,  by  the  name  of  Lombards, 


50 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


or  of  Tuscans.  These  merchants  being  dispersed 
throughout  Europe,  “became  (says  Anderson)  very 
convenient  agents  for  the  popes,  who  employed 
them  to  receive  and  remit  the  large  revenues  they 
drew  from  every  state  which  acknowleged  their  ec- 
clesiastical supremacy.  Hence,  and  from  their  be- 
ing employed  to  lend  the  money  thus  gathered  upon 
interest,  they  are  called  by  Matthew  Paris  “the 
Pope’s  merchants.”  We  learn  from  the  same  his- 
torian that  some  of  the  English  nobles  availed  them- 
selves of  the  same  agency,  and  4 ‘ sowed  their  mon- 
ey to  make  it  multiply.” 

Henry  III,  in  his  twenty-ninth  year,  forbade  his 
subjects  to  borrow  money  from  any  foreign  mer- 
chants. This  was  on  account  of  the  great  exactions 
which  they  are  said  to  have  committed*.  In  the  four- 
teenth century  the  business  of  banking  was  carried 
on  by  the  drapers,  at  Barcelona,  in  Spain;  as  it  was 
in  after  ages  by  the  goldsmiths  of  London.  Bank- 
ing began  in  Italy,  by  Lombard  Jews,  in  th&  year 
808;  that  of  Genoa,  1345;  of  Amsterdam,  1609;  of 
Rotterdam,  1635;  of  England,  1694;  of  Hamburg, 
1710;  in  the  East  Indies,  1787;  in  America,  1781, 
at  Philadelphia.  Bankers,  on  their  first  establish- 
ment, allowed  to  those  who  entrusted  their  money 
in  their  hands  a moderate  interest  for  the  same. 
Thereby  their  business  was  very  considerably  in 
creased. 

The  first  bank  in  America  was  established  by  Mr. 
R.  Morris,  the  Superintendent  of  Finance,  and  a del 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


51 


egate  to  the  Continental  congress.  In  May  of  that 
year  congress  gave  its  sanction  to  the  plan  of  a na- 
tional hank,  and  the  Bank  of  North  America  had  a 
legal  existence.  The  hostility  to  national  banks  be- 
gan with  their  organization,  and  in  1829  President 
Jackson  condemned  the  renewal  of  their  charters  in 
his  first  annual  message  to  congress.  In  1833  Pres- 
ident Jackson  removed  the  government  deposits 
from  the  United  States  Bank,  and  placed  them  in 
state  banks,  which  were  called  4 ‘State  Deposit  Banks.  ” 
A large  number  of  local  banks  were  then  organized 
with  the  result  of  effecting  an  enormous  amount  of 
speculation  and  overtrading,  and  ‘ ‘ wild  cat  ” bank- 
ing became  rampant  throughout  the  western  states. 

In  1836  the  surplus  money  belonging  to  the 
United  States  treasury  was  distributed  to  the  state 
banks,  and  to  check  speculation  in  public  lands  the 
President  prohibited  the  receipt  of  anything  but  sil- 
ver and  gold  in  payment  for  land  sold  by  the  gov- 
ernment. A year  later  the  panic  of  1837  paralyzed  the 
nation.  The  funding  of  greenbacks  into  six  per  cent 
gold  bonds  was  revoked  in  1863,  which  rendered  them 
irredeemable,  and  credit  became  so  expanded  under 
excessive  issues  of  paper  money,  that  the  abuse  of 
credit  became  general.  The  great  paper  bubble  burst 
in  1873,  and  a general  panic  was  the  result. 

The  vexed  question  of  the  proper  adjustment  of 
financial  matters  is  the  source  of  several  theories, 
and  their  discussion  has  always  been  foremost  in 
legislative  halls. 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


52 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Our  leading  statesmen  have  frequently  changed 
their  opinions  of  the  financial  policy  of  the  land.  In 
1791  James  Madison  opposed  the  first  United  States 
bank,  and  in  1816,  when  president,  recommended 
the  second  United  States  bank.  The  same  course 
was  pursued  by  Henry  Clay  and  Daniel  W ebster. 
Thomas  Jefferson  acted  likewise.  General  Jackson 
and  Mr.  Y an  Buren  favored  state  deposit  banks  in 
1833,  and  four  years  later  changed  their  minds. 

The  business  world  has  been  centuries  in  learning 
that  wealth  is  not  money,  but  consists  of  the  abund- 
ance of  those  things  which  command  money.  Money 
is  only  the  instrument  of  exchange  for  the  articles 
comprising  wealth.  Some  nations  have  been  so 
carried  away  with  the  opposite  notion,  that  it  be- 
came the  object  of  legislation  to  prevent  exportation 
of  the  precious  metals,  as  such  was  thought  to  di- 
minish the  wealth  of  the  country. 

The  rich  and  the  poor  are  two  classes  which  are 
antagonistic,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said 
and  written  about  their  mutual  dependence.  The 
history  of  man  does  not  present  a picture  like  that 
of  the  present,  nor  has  the  combination  of  circum- 
stances seen  to-day  ever  existed  in  the  past.  The 
invention  of  printing,  telegraph,  steam  engine;  the 
use  of  labor-saving  machinery;  the  great  increase  of 
monopolies  and  the  intellectual  development  of  the 
masses  have  created  a new  era.  The  people  are  be- 
ginning to  think  and  are  beginning  an  attempt  to 
better  their  condition. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


53 


It  is  often  said  that  capital  and  labor  are  depend- 
ent upon  each  other,  but  it  is  also  true  that  labor 
can  secure  many  of  the  advantages  held  by  capital, 
by  combination  or  co-operation.  Labor  is  undoubt- 
edly the  true  source  of  capital.  Under  the  present 
system  the  power  of  capital  to  accumulate  exceeds 
the  power  of  labor  to  produce.  This  fault  lies  in  un- 
just legislation. 

The  riotous  events  and  the  exciting  strikes  of  late 
years  have  elicited  much  thought  and  attention.  In 
brief,  it  .is  a new  phase  of  our  history  as  a nation. 
It  is  a lesson  which  will  bear  good  fruit.  America 
with  its  millions  of  acres  of  yet  uncultivated  land, 
hundreds  of  inexhaustible  mines  yet  unworked,  is 
far  from  being  cramped  in  resources,  but  unjust 
laws  continually  cast  the  pall  of  hard  times  upon 
the  productive  classes. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  about 
seven-eights  of  our  population  were  farmers,  while 
the  last  census  shows  a balance  against  agricultural 
pursuits.  New  trades  and  employments  have  sprung 
up,  and  the  divisions  of  labor  have  multiplied.  Out 
of  this  new  order  of  things  trades  unions  have  come 
into  life,  and  the  natural  differences  between 
capital  and  labor  have  been  brought  out  in  intensi- 
fied contrasts.  Labor  has  hitherto  been  entirely  ig- 
norant of  the  economic  laws  which  govern  the  con- 
ditions in  which  it  exists,  but  to-day  education  is  en- 
abling it  to  comprehend  them  better.  It  is  not  to  be 


54 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


denied  that  money  is  the  great  and  only  true  basis 
of  our  social  condition 

The  grievance  of  labor  does  not  lie  on  a social 
plane.  Labor  seeks  to  be  treated  humanely,  irre- 
spective of  wages,  and  not  like  a machine  or  a 
brute.  The  fate  of  the  workingman’s  wages  is  plac- 
ed between  two  causes — that  which  reduces  the  com- 
petition of  labor,  and  that  which  produces  capital. 
The  wage-fund  principle  teaches  that  the  wages 
labor  will  receive,  at  any  time  or  in  any  trade,  is 
simply  a question  of  division;  capital  may  be  call- 
ed the  dividend,  the  number  of  workingmen  the  di- 
visor, and  the  quotient  that  amount  which  each 
workingman  receives  as  wages.  There  are  but  two 
ways  of  increasing  the  latter — either  increase  the 
dividend  or  decrease  the  divisor.  In  each  case 
wages  increase. 

Labor  is  interested  in  high  profits  as  much  as 
capital,  for  capital  employs  labor.  How  to  in- 
crease capital  has  been  a problem  which  all  modern 
peoples  have  industriously  attempted  to  solve.  When 
labor  and  capital  demand  each  other  equally,  happi- 
ness, peace  and  plenty  result. 

There  have  arisen  various  theories  and  conflicts  be- 
tween them  in  regard  to  commerce,  free  trade,  pro- 
tection, agriculture  and  manufactures,  and  partisans 
are  urging  their  policies  with  zeal  and  all  the  ardor 
of  positive  conviction,  and  they  say  the  prosperity 
of  the  country  lies  in  the  adoption  of  their  theories. 
Many  of  these  have  arisen  from  local  causes,  and 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


55 


are  doomed  to  defeat  through  lack  of  national  im- 
portance. 

In  the  use  and  misuse  of  profits  lies  a great  pow- 
er in  the  industrial  world.  Labor  has  a well  ground- 
ed complaint  in  the  abuse  of  capital,  yet  it  is  im- 
possible to  direct  how  wealth  shall  be  spent  by  its 
owner.  The  investment  of  capital  in  productive 
industry  advances  the  interests  of  the  workingman, 
and  profits  inure  to  both  capital  and  labor. 

The  workingman  is  not  entirely  without  blame 
in  the  matter  of  ill-spent  money.  The  amount  of  mon- 
ey spent  for  tobacco  and  liquor  exceeds  that  expend- 
ed for  any  other  two  articles,  and  in  this  he  is  wrong 
for  he  injures  no  one  so  much  as  himself. 

Labor  is  grieved  and  angry  at  the  injustice  with 
which  it  feels  that  capital  oppresses  it,  and  in  de- 
fense, it  has  organized  the  greatest  labor  order  the 
world  has  ever  known.  In  truth,  there  should  be  no 
antagonizm  between  capital  and  labor,  for  labor  pro- 
duces capital.  If  there  were  no  capital  there  could 
be  no  industrial  labor.  One  is  helpless  without  the 
other.  Should  labor  cease  for  forty-eight  hours  capi- 
tal would  take  flight  and  want  would  stalk  the  earth. 
Labor  needs  the  guidance  of  honest  leaders  rather 
than  the  violence  of  scheming  demagogues. 

It  is  probable  the  present  conflict  between  labor 
and  capital  originates  in  a misunderstanding:  capi- 
tal does  not  comprehend  labor,  and  labor  does  not 
understand  capital. 

Hon.  Alfred  Taylor  says:  It  is  the  duty  of  every 


56 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


healthy  person  to  be  self-sustaining  and  contribute 
some  good  by  his  energy,  either  mental  or  physical, 
for  the  blessing  he  enjoys  in  his  life.  Everything 
that  adds  to  the  happiness  of  life  is  the  result  of  some- 
body’s mental  or  physical  exertion,  and  to  enjoy  it 
without  an  equivalent  is  to  be  a drone  and  a sponger 
of  another’s  toil.  The  scriptures  inform  us  that  in  six 
days-  God  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  all 
things  therein.  Not  only  setting  an  example  of  an 
industrial  life,  but  dignifying  its  mission.  Those  that 
plow  the  soil,  sow  the  seed  and  raise  the  food  and 
weave  the  cloths,  and  build  the  shelter  and  create  a 
nation’s  wealth,  should  be  rich  and  enjoy  life  instead 
of  struggling  for  existence,  as  they  now  do  beneath 
mortgaged  homes  and  burdensome  taxes  and  blight- 
ed lives.  The  larger  the  fortunes  of  the  few,  the 
greater  the  hardships  of  the  many.  A class  of  men 
who  will  neither  work,  fight  nor  pay  taxes;  who 
have  inspired  class  laws  in  order  to  extort  fabulous 
private  fortunes,  and  thereby  they  have  excited  envy, 
jealousy  and  discontent  on  the  one  hand,  and  sel- 
fishness, aggression,  tyranny  and  crime  on  the  other. 
Sculptured  palaces  are  the  immediate  parents  of  the 
distressed  hovel.  Must  religion  build  extravagant 
churches,  trade  its  costly  warehouses,  wealth  its  long 
streets  of  sculptured  mansions,  and  luxury  flaunt  its 
voluptuous  trappings  in  the  face  of  the  industrial 
poor,  debasing  manhood,  forcing  them  into  vice  and 
crime?  President  Lincoln  said  in  his  second  message: 
“Labor  is  prior  to  and  independent  of  capital.  Cap- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


57 


ital  is  only  the  fruit  of  labor  and  could  never  have 
existed  if  labor  had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the 
superior  and  deserves  much  higher  consideration.” 

Webster  said  in  his  speech  in  1837:  “The  inter- 
est of  this  great  country,  the  principal  cause  of  all 
prosperity,  is  labor,  labor,  labor.  The  government 
was  made  to  protect  this  industry;  to  give  it  both  en- 
couragement and  security,  to  that  very  end,  with 
this  precise  object  in  view,  power  was  given  to  Con- 
gress over  the  currency  and  over  the  money  system 
of  the  country.” 

Let  us  swear  to  make  labor  profitable  and  respect- 
able, whether  it  be  hand  work  or  brain  work.  La- 
bor and  capital  are  joint  partners  in  the  production 
of  wealth.  Capital  is  to  labor  what  the  skillful  hand 
is  to  the  useful  tool.  Interest  and  profit  deter- 
mines what  each  shall  have.  Then  there  would  be 
no  antagonism,  unless  one  extorted  from  the  other 
and  brought  on  the  conflict. 

The  claims  of  labor  can  be  no  more  forcibly 
shown  than  wealth  in  a state  of  nature.  Trees  in 
the  forest,  rock  in  the  quarry,  iron  in  the  mountain, 
bricks  in  the  clay,  or  glass  from  sand  on  the  sea 
shore.  In  their  primitive  condition  they  are  almost 
worthless.  Built  into  a mansion  they  furnish  most 
of  the  comforts  and  luxury  of  life,  whose  value  is 
increased  a thousand  fold  and  ought  to  receive  the 
first  attention  of  its  legislator. 

Men  in  affluent  circumstances  having  no  occasion 
for  temptation  claim  superior  nature,  honesty, which 


58 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


keeps  them  from  crime,  when,  in  fact,  it  is  only  for- 
tunate circumstances  in  life.  Upon  scanty  allow- 
ance, coupled  with  hard  work,  they  would  be  fre- 
quently ugly  and  criminal.  A prominent  divine  once 
told  his  congregation  of  merchants,  bankers  and 
speculators  that  he  was  on  too  high  a plane  to  be 
affected  by  a temptation  to  steal.  He  was  then  get- 
ting $20,000  per  annum  for  his  talk. 

Money  is  an  instrument  susceptible  of  being  the 
greatest  blessing  human  ingenuity  ever  invented. 
Money  to  commerce  is  what  blood  is  to  the  system; 
money  to  commerce  is  what  water  is  to  navigation, 
or  freight  cars  to  railroad  traffic.  To  shrink  theii 
quantity  clogs  the  channels  of  trade.  All  the  polit- 
ical economists  from  Richards  to  Mill,  admit  that  ex- 
pansion of  money  is  life,  that  contraction  is  death, 
and  that  the  amount  of  money  in  circulation  controls 
and  fixes  values  and  prices  of  all  commodities, includ- 
ing land  and  labor.  We  have  but  two  kinds  of  dollars 
in  this  country,  one  of  gold,  the  other  of  silver.  All 
others  are  a promise  to  pay  a dollar,  or  be  redeemed 
in  coin.  Any  circulating  medium  whether  of  coin,  or 
paper,  that  is  not  a full  legal  tender  for  public  or 
private  debts,  is  a fraud  and  a cheat.  The  control 
over  the  volume  of  money  is  mainly  in  the  hands 
of  the  national  banks,  together  with  the  right  and 
profit  of  issue.  A usurped  sovereign  power  they 
will  never  surrender,  because  of  its  profit,  until  com- 
pelled to  do  so  by  law. 

The  volume  of  money  in  the  United  States  as 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


59 


shown  by  congressional  speeches,  is  from  $12  to  $13 
per  capita.  Subtract  what  is  on  deposit  and  held 
for  redemption  purposes,  and  there  will  not  be  left 
more  than$9.70  per  capitaavailable  for  actual  busi- 
ness. Great  Britain,  thirty  times  smaller  in  area, 
and  only  about  two-thirds  our  population,  has  $23.70 
per  capita.  France  with  her  200,000  square  miles 
of  territory,  has  $43  per  capita  and  her  people  com- 
paratively out  of  debt.  Such  are  the  facts,  as  un- 
welcome as  they  may  be. 

Those  countries  are  densely  populated  as  compar- 
ed with  ours,  and  the  facilities  of  exchange  far  more 
convenient  than  in  a country  as  expansive  as  this, 
and  because  of  its  wide  distribution,  payments  of 
debts  cannot  proceed  with  the  same  rapidity. 

The  bank  of  England  was  established  in  1794, 
and  is  93  years  old.  It  was  originated  by  a Lon- 
don merchant  by  the  name  of  Patterson,  and  was 
first  chartered  for  eleven  years.  It  has  suspended 
specie  payment  eleven  times,  one  of  which  lasted 
twenty-six  years,  each  time  tearing  down  the  col- 
umns of  British  commerce  and  spreading  financial 
distress,  not  only  in  England,  but  frequently  in  oth- 
er nations.  With  all  its  boasted  pride  of  gold  re- 
demption, its  bank  notes  have  been  41  per  cent  be- 
low par.  Its  mode  of  resumption  has  been  invaria- 
bly over  the  road  of  contraction,  the  path  of  gloom 
and  despair,  where  nothing  flourishes  but  poverty 
and  crime. 

Abraham  Lincoln  expressed  to  an  intimate  friend 


eo 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


a short  time  before  he  was  assassinated,  that  he  rery 
much  doubted  whether  there  was  moral  virtue  and 
patriotism  enough  among  the  controlling  classes  to 
perpetuate  our  institutions. 

Mr.  Greely  upon  his  death  bed  said.“TheTribune 
and  country  are  gone,  and  I am  going.” 

The  permanence  of  the  government  can  only  be 
secured  by  such  property  qualification  as  will  pre- 
vent those  who  have  no  interest  in  the  country  from 
votii^  and  controlling  its  affairs,  shouts  Hugh  Mc- 
Cullough, ex-secretary  of  the  treasury,  the  prime 
criminal  of  modern  times.  Government  authority 
never  shows  its  weakness  and  demoralized  condition 
so  much  as  when  it  resorts  to  physical  and  brute 
force  to  carry  its  ends. 

Caesar  said:  “The  ides  of  March  have  come.” 
When  they  had  passed  he  was  lifeless  at  the  foot  of 
Pompey’s  statue.  Bloated  wealth  can  never  com- 
prehend the  suffering  of  the  poor.  Mary  Antoinette, 
when  told  that  the  fisherwomen  were  revolting  be^ 
cause  they  had  no  bread,  replied  in  her  confused  ig- 
norance with  the  insult,  “Why  don’t  they  eat  cake  ?” 
When  Paris  was  in  a wild  tumult  the  king  played 
locksmith  to  avoid  the  danger,  and  wrote  in  his  di- 
ary, “ Nothing  in  particular  happened  to-day.”  Yet 
they  had  moved  the  foundation  of  his  monarchy. 
Charles  I,  with  contempt  for  the  people,  said  : 
“ France  needs  mowing,”  and  asked,  “What  can 
these  round-heads  do  ?”  and  he  told  them  to  go  and 
eat  grass.  In  one  week  from  that  time  they  were 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


61 


carrying  his  head  on  a pole.  Rousseau  wrote  a book 
pleading  for  honesty  and  purity  in  the  French  gov- 
ernment,' which  was  treated  with  contempt  by  the 
aristocratic  class.  Carlisle  says  the  second  edition 
of  that  book  “was  bound  in  the  skins  of  the  sneer- 
ing aristocracy.” 

The  gold  standard,  the  swindling  bond  system, 
the  demonetizing  of  silver,  the  funding  and  refund- 
ing of  national  debts,  the  changing  of  inflated  paper 
debts  to  a gold  standard,  is  not  the  work  of  states- 
men ; it  is  the  work  of  cunning,  crafty  tricksters, 
who  betray  their  exalted  trust,  and  barter  away  the 
most  sacred  principles  of  a confiding  people.  They 
are  traitors  to  the  republican  form  of  government, 
and  clamor  for  the  gold  standard  to  pile  up  collossal 
fortunes,  notwithstanding  it  is  the  prop  of  a mon- 
archy, and  leads  to  a centralized  government  of 
force,  resting  on  a standing  army. 

Nothing  can  be  permanent  based  on  a sham.  Our 
banking  system  is  based  on  debt,  while  debt  and  in- 
terest mean  bankruptcy  and  the  transfer  of  labor 
and  property,  without  an  equivalent. 

To  illustrate,  I cite  the  following  as  only  one  of 
hundreds  that  took  place  in  the  years  1863  and 
1S64:  $10,000,000  of  United  States  bonds  were  sold 
in  New  York  in  1863  when  gold  was  $2.57  in  green- 
backs, which  cost  the  bondholder  in  gold  about  $3,- 
900,000;  during  the  last  fifteen  years  the  interest 
amounted  in  gold,  when  the  bonds  were  called  and 
paid,  to  $9,900,000;  and  the  principal,  $10,000,000, 


62 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


making  a total  of  $19,900,000;  subtract  purchase 
money,  $3,900,000,  and  this  leaves  a net  profit  of 
$16,000,000. 

King  Philip  said  he  had  ‘ ‘no  faith  in  the  patriot- 
ism of  any  class  of  men  who  would  be  made  to  do 
wrong  for  a jackass  load  of  gold.”  To  first  impov- 
erish and  then  enslave,  has  been  the  history  of  the 
downfall  of  all  republics.  Do  not  imagine  for  a 
moment  that  our  languishing  industries  and  low 
price  of  agricultural  commodities,  is  the  lack  of  wis- 
dom in  legislation.  Far  from  it.  It  is  the  work  of 
a well-organized  conspiracy,  well  known  and  long 
practiced  in  Europe,  and  forced  upon  this  country 
by  long-headed  foreign  tricksters.  We  have  already 
paid  the  cost  of  the  war  in  interest,  the  principal  of 
which  is  over  double  in  amount  to-day,  considering 
the  price  of  labor  and  its  commodities,  as  compar- 
ed writh  what  it  was  at  the  close  of  the  war.  A 
statesman  has  said  that  were  it  not  for  the  the  ener- 
gy and  enterprise  of  the  people  and  fertility  of  the 
soil,  American  society  would  pine  away  beneath 
the  blighting  influence  of  marasmus.  If  national 
debt  brought  about  by  inflated  paper  currency  was 
ever  settled  upon  a gold  basis,  history  fails  to  re- 
cord the  fact. 

Burke  says:  ‘It  is  to  the  life  and  property  of  the 
citizens,  and  not  to  the  demand  of  the  creditor  of  the 
state,  that  the  original  faith  of  society  is  pledged. 
The  claim  of  the  citizen  is  prior  in  time,  paramount 
in  title  and  supreme  in  equity.’  The  bondholder 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


63 


demonstrates  why  should  a United  States  bond  be 
guaranteed  against  all  loss  by  storm,  pestilence, 
war,  and  famine,  exempt  from  taxation,  principal 
and  interest  payable  in  gold  and  for  ever  afterward 
a lien  upon  everybody’s  property.  Before  the 
shrinkage  in  values  took  place,  the  long-headed  men 
sold  their  property,  invested  it  in  bonds,  moved  into 
the  towns  and  cities  of  the  country  and  commenced 
clipping  coupons,  occasionally  giving  one  to  a gold- 
basis  editor,  who  shouts  the  delusion  that  a national 
debt  is  a national  blessing,  the  financial  questions 
are  settled,  and  gold  and  greenbacks  are  par. 

Political  parties  have  their  birth,  growth  and 
maturity  by  first  serving  the  people  with  fidelity  on 
the  vital  questions  of  the  day.  When  they  have  ac- 
complished their  mission  and  become  rich  and  pow- 
erful, they  boast  of  by-gone  issues  and  fight  battles 
over  where  they  have  once  won  a victory,  and  use 
their  historic  fame  by  appealing  to  the  people  for  a 
new  lease  of  power  to  acquire  private  fortunes  by 
discriminating  laws.  No  love  or  hate  of  old  party 
issues,  no  pride  or  prejudice  born  of  old  conflicts 
should  control  your  vote.  New  issues  are  upon  us, 
and  new  ideas  and  new  votes  must  pave  the  way  for 
industrial  emancipation,  and  then  comes  the  tan- 
gible reality.” 


64 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GOVERNMENT  LOANS  TO  THE  PEOPLE.1 

MAN  SHALL  EAEN  HIS  BEEAD  BY  THE  SWEAT  OF  HJS 

BEOW- — INTEEEST  AND  USUEY THE  MOSAIC  LAW — 

THE  POWEE  OF  INTEEEST ILLTJ STEATION S LOANS  TO 

THE  PEOPLE  A FEASIBLE  PEOJECT THE  GOVEENMENT 

LOANS  TO  THE  BANKEES LOANS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  AT  A 

LOW  EATE  WOULD  BE  A BLESSING HOW  THE  FAEM- 

EES  WOULD  SECUEE  PKOSPEEITY MILLIONAIEES  AND 

PAUPEES  AEE  INCEEASING EEGULATION  OF  THE  VOL- 
UME OF  MONEY GAEFIELD’S  THEOEY TOTAL  NA- 
TIONAL DEBT HYPOCEITICAL  POLITICIANS USUEY 

NOTHING  MOEE  THAN  EOBBEEY. 

“It  is  a decree  of  heaven  that  every  man  shall 
earn  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,”  and  no 
man  will  deny  that  it  is  just  and  proper.  Further- 
more, it  will  not  be  disputed  that  every  man  has-  a 
right  to  the  product  of  his  own  labor.  Under  the 
present  order  of  things  men  do  not  get  the  benefit  of 
that  which  they  produce,  neither  is  it  the  practice 
for  all  men  to  earn  the  bread  they  eat.  The  rule 

1 By  Hon.W.  D.  Vincent,  L,  A.,  3797,  K.  of  L. 


FREDERICK  TURNER, 
General  Treasurer,  K.  of  L, 


UBSXKl 

mmWiuims 


THE  VOICE  OF  bABOR. 


67 


now  is,  and  lias  been,  that  the  man  who  earns  the 
most  gets  the  least,  and  he  who  earns  the  least  gets 
the  most. 

A careful  study  of  the  subject  of  interest  will 
convince  any  reasonable  mind  that  it  has  been  one 
of  the  leading  causes  in  brmging  about  this  state  of 
affairs.  Usury  or  interest  upon  money  (which  is 
one  and  the  same  thing),  has  been  condemned  by  the 
better  class  of  thinking  men  in  all  ages  of  the  world 
— God  himself  condemns  it.  “Thou  shalt  not  lend 
thy  brother  money  upon  usury.”  It  was  strictly  pro- 
hibited by  the  Mosaic  law;  and  for  many  years  after 
Christ  established  the  new  order  of  things,  any  per- 
son in  the  church  who  was  known  to  pursue  or  de- 
fend the  practice  of  usury  was  subject  to  expulsion. 
It  was  prohibited  because  it  was  wrong.  If  it 
was  wrong  then  it  is  wrong  now.  From  no  process 
of  reasoning  can  we  conclude  that  it  is  any  nearer 
right  now,  than  it  was  when  Christ  drove  the  money 
changers  out  of  the  temple. 

Every  state  in  the  union  has  enacted  laws  against 
the  taking  of  interest  above  a certain  per  centage. 
True,  these  laws  are  not  enforced,  but  the  fact  that 
they  remain  on  the  statute  books  is  proof  that  the 
law-makers  themselves  know  that  high  rates  of  in- 
terest are  bad  for  the  people.  It  is  impossible  for 
anyone  who  has  the  welfare  of  his  country  at  heart 
to  uphold  a system  that  will  enable  men  to  exact 
high  rates  of  interest.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
equally  unjust  to  oppose  any  reform  that  would 


68 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


lower  the  rate  of  interest.  As  before  stated,  the  ex- 
isting usury  laws  are  not  enforced,  and  under  the 
present  system  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  enforce 
them. 

The  only  way  to  form  a proper  idea  of  the  power 
of  interest  to  absorb  is  to  make  our  estimates  for 
long  periods  of  time.  Laws  should  be  made,  not 
only  in  the  interest  of  all  the  people  and  on  the 
principle  of  ‘ ‘ the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  num- 
ber,” but  they  should  be  made  for  the  people  of 
the  next  generation,  as  well  as  those  who  are  now 
living. 

We  have  no  right  to  enact  laws  that  will  be  de- 
trimental to  our  children,  or  to  oppose  any  measure 
that  will  be  beneficial  to  them.  We  have  no  right 
to  uphold  customs  which,  even  though  they  may 
not  materially  affect  us,  will  eventually  make  paup- 
ers of  a majority  of  our  peopl^..  Three  hundred 
years  is  a very  short  time  in  the  history  of  a nation, 
yet  if  this  government  should  give  its  note  to-day 
for  one  dollar  due  three  hundred  years  from  date,  at 
10  per  cent  compound  interest,  the  debt  at  maturity 
would  be  four  times  greater  than  the  present  assess- 
ed valuation  of  all  the  property  in  the  United 
States. 

The  farmer  mortgages  his  place  to-day  for  $1,000 
at  12  per  cent  compounded  annually,  and  leaves 
the  debt  for  his  grandson  to  pay  one  hundred  years 
after  date.  At  the  end  of  the  time  the  young  man 
finds  a debt  of  $84,675,000  on  his  hands.  If  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


69 


three  generations  have  done  well  and  worked  hard, 
the  farm  is  worth  $50,000.  If  sold,  it  will  pay  less 
than  one  mill  on  the  dollar. 

One  dollar  put  out  at  interest — 2 per  cent  per 
month  compounded  annually — if  allowed  to  run  one 
hundred  years  would  amount  to  the  enormous  sum 
of  $2,551,797,401.  In  silver  dollars  this  would 
weigh  89,612  tons. 

Two  young  men,  James  and  John,  start  out  in 
life  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  with  $1,000  each. 
James  invests  his  money  in  a farm.  At  the  end  of 
twenty-five  years,  if  he  has  no  bad  luck — if  drouth 
and  grasshoppers  have  not  visited  him  too  often, 
and  if  he  has  been  able  to  stem  the  tide  of  periodi- 
cal panics,  he  is  worth  $40, 000.  He  has  accumula- 
ted this  by  hard  work  and  the  strictest  economy,  to- 
gether with  the  increase  in  the  value  of  his  farm. 

John  settles  in  town  and  establishes  a “loan 
agency.”  He  is  very  shrewd,  and  manages  to  keep 
half  his  capital  loaned  out  all  the  time  at  2 per  cent 
per  month,  compounded  every  three  months.  At  the 
end  of  twenty-five  years  he  is  worth  $170,000.  He 
has  performed  no  labor  except  to  drive  a good  bar- 
gain when  he  could.  James,  the  farmer,  has  worked 
hard  through  heat  and  cold,  from  early  morn  till 
late  at  night.  He  has  been  trying  to  keep  up  with 
his  friend  John,  and  has  not  taken  the  time  to  read 
good  books  and  study  finance.  He  has  neglected 
the  art  of  “addition,  multiplication  and  silence.” 
But  he  has  produced  something.  He  has  helped 


70 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


develop  the  country,  and  has  added  something  to 
the  world’s  wealth.  Yet  he  is  worth  $130,000  less 
than  John  the  money  loaner,  who  has  done  nothing 
and  added  not  one  dollar  to  the  resources  of  his 
country. 

Now  we  claim  that  this  order  of  things  should  be 
reversed.  If  any  one  has  the  advantage,  it  should 
be  the  man  who  chooses  to  labor  and  build  up  the 
country,  and  not  the  man  who  decides  to  do  nothing 
but  accumulate  the  products  of  other  men’s  labor.  One 
of  the  greatest  means  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
end  is,  for  the  government  to  loan  money,  in  limited 
quantities,  at  a low  rate  of  interest— the  rate  to  be  de- 
termined after  proper  deliberation.  I am  aware  of  the 
prejudice  that  exists  against  new  ideas,  and  the  pro- 
position for  the  government  to  loan  money  to  poor 
people,  is  a new  idea.  The  proposition  has  never 
been  thought  of,  or  agitated  by  the  people  to  any 
extent.  This  will  be  one  of  the  arguments  used  by 
our  opponents.  They  will  tell  us  that  it  is  an  ex- 
periment. 

I answer  that  government  control  of  the  postal 
system  was  once  a new  thing,  and  an  experiment. 

Is  that  any  reason  why  it  should  not  be 
adopted  ? It  is  an  admitted  fact  that  the  people  de- 
rive more  benefits  from  the  postal  service,  as  admin- 
istered by  the  government,  than  from  any  other 
service  of  a public  nature,  as  compared  to  the  cost. 
And  it  will  not  be  denied  that  if  this  system  were 
operated  by  private  individuals  and  corporations,  it 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


71 


would  be  made  a means  of  oppression  and  extortion, 
equal  to  that  which  is  now  carried  on  by  railroad, 
telegraph,  standard  oil  and  moneyed  monopolies. 
Every  function  that  is  now  performed  by  the  govern- 
ment, was  once  performed  by  individuals,  and  that 
unfortunate  state  of  affairs  would  exist  to-day,  but 
for  experiments  and  new  ideas.  Government  itself 
was  a new  idea.  Republican  form  of  government 
is  an  experiment  to-day,  and  yet  I dare  say  the 
people  do  not  wish  it  to  be  abandoned.  The 
threshing  machine,  the  printing  press,  the  rail- 
road, the  telegraph  and  the  telephone  are  among 
the  fruitful  effects  of  experiments  and  new  ideas. 
This  is  an  age  of  progression,  and  none  but  the  anti- 
quated “fogy”  will  adhere  to  old  opinions  because 
they  are  old,  or  oppose  new  ones  because  they  are 
new. 

Our  government  has  been  in  the  loan  business 
for  almost  a quarter  of  a century.  For  twenty-three 
years  it  has  loaned  out  to  national  bankers  over 
$300,000,000  at  one  per  cent  a year.  Instead  of 
loaning  it  out  to  poor  men  who  needed  it  most,  it 
has  been  loaning  to  a wealthy  class  who  have  need- 
ed it  least.  During  all  this  time  while  all  these  rich 
men  have  been  borrowing  at  one  per  cent  they  have 
been  loaning  the  same  money  to  their  poor  neigh- 
bors  at  from  12  to  24  per  cent.  This  is  a fact  so 
well  known  and  an  injustice  so  glaring,  that  no  ar- 
gument is  necessary  to  demonstrate  its  truth  or  evil 
effects.  The  system  under  which  this  outrage  is 


72 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


permitted  is  so  contemptibly  wicked,  that  I dare  say 
that  its  defense  will  not  be  undertaken. 

It  is  a self-evident  fact  that  if  the  banker  gets 
money  of  the  government  at  one  per  cent,  the  farm- 
er ought  to  get  it  at  the  same  rate,  if  he  can  furnish 
as  good  security.  No  one  can  possibly  deny  this, 
unless  he  takes  the  position  that  our  government 
should  be  run  in  the  interest  of  the  rich  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  poor.  On  the  contrary,  I claim  that 
the  government  should  loan  only  to  the  poor.  The 
rich  man  can  take  care  of  himself.  But,  if  he  can- 
not, if  he  finds  this  life  too  great  a burden  because 
of  his  riches,  let  him  follow  the  Bible  injunction,  and 
give  what  he  has  to  the  poor. 

What  harm  can  possibly  arise  from  government 
loans  ? Suppose  the  people  get  the  money  at  three 
per  cent  interest.  One  per  cent  to  go  the  county, 
in  which  the  loan  is  made;  one  per  cent  to  the  state, 
and  one  per  cent  to  the  national  government.  In 
this  way  the  people  as  a whole,  would  get  back  every 
dollar  of  interest  paid  by  individuals.  These  sev- 
eral governments — county,  state  and  national — 
would  be  benefited  to  the  extent  of  every  dollar  of 
interest  paid.  Whatever  benefits  the  government, 
under  a just  system  of  laws,  benefits  the  people. 

The  men  who  are  now  loaning  money  from  12  to 
48,  and  a few  as  high  as  60  per  cent,  would  be  com- 
pelled to  come  down  to  3 per  cent,  or  go  out 
of  business.  The  consequence  would  be  that 
most  of  them  would  quit  the  business,  and 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


73 


take  up  some  other  calling.  This  of  itself 
would  be  a blessing.  There  are  to-day  thous- 
ands of  men  who  are  making  their  living,  or  a 
greater  part  of  it,  by  loaning  money.  Many  of  them 
do  nothing  else,  and  they  are  "rapidly  accumulating 
wealth.  These  men  are  positively  not  doing  one 
thing  toward  developing  the  country.  They  are 
not  adding  one  dollar  of  wealth  to  it.  They  do  not 
even  earn  the  salt  that  goes  in  the  bread  they  eat, 
They  consume  as  much  as  the  producer,  or  more, 
but  they  pay  for  it  with  money  that  has  been  wrung 
from  the  producer  by  an  unjust  system.  These 
men  are  living  on  the  products  of  other  men’s  toil. 

And  yet  we  cannot  blame  these  men.  They  are  not 
responsible  for  the  system,  and  without  a change  we 
could  hardly  get  along  without  them.  They  are 
not,  as  a rule,  more  selfish  than  other  men.  They 
are  virtually  nothing  but  public  paupers,  but  if  the 
people  have  no  more  judgment  than  to  support 
them,  by  keeping  up  the  system,  they  should  find 
fault  with  no  one  but  themselves.  We  are  apt  to 
choose  a calling  which  we  tfiink  will  bring  us  in  the 
greatest  returns. 

Every  man  in  one  sense  of  the  word,  is  free  to 
choose  for  himself  with  this  exception.  No  man 
can  go  into  the  money-loaning  business,  if  he  has 
no  money.  The  man  who  is  now  loaning  money 
might  have  chosen  to  be  a farmer,  and  the  farmers 
might  have  decided  to  loan  money,  but  this  does 
not  correct  the  evil.  It  is  no  proof  that  men  should 


74 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


come  into  possession  of  that  which  they  do  not  earn. 
If  by  some  means  men  were  compelled  to  change 
conditions — if  those  who  are  now  poor  should 
become  rich,  and  those  who  are  now  rich  should  be- 
come poor,  the  fact  would  remain  that  one  class  of 
society  would  be  getting  the  benefit  of  the  hard 
earnings  of  another  class.  The  injustice  and  hard- 
ships-would  be  just  as  great. 

That  we  all  have  equal  chances  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  professional  gambler.  This  he 
offers  as  consolation  to  his  poor  victim,  and  the 
deluded  wretch  will  go  off  and  repeat  it.  And 
while  we  often  find  the  men  who  are  suffering  most 
from  the  curse  of  usury  defending  it,  yet  the 
fact  remains  that  it  is  a curse.  John  Brown  was 
the  best  friend  the  African  slaves  ever  had,  and  yet 
they  were  among  the  first  to  resist  him  when  he 
sought  to  free  them.  Verily,  ignorance  and  preju- 
dice cover  more  sins  than  charity. 

We  expect  to  hear  from  the  opponents  of  this 
measure  a great  deal  of  talk  about  ‘ ‘an  army  of  paid 
clerks” — that  the  people  do  not  need  a guardian. 
In  the  absence  of  argument  they  will  offer  for  your 
consideration  a long  list  of  high  sounding  words  and 
phrases.  Ridicule  will  doubtless  be  resorted  to, 
as  that  is  one  of  the  means  used  in  fighting  every 
just  measure.  When  a lawyer  has  a weak  case  he 
invariably  resorts  to  ridicule  or  abuse,  and  sometimes 
both.  If  they  are  consistent  they  will  tell  you  that 
it  is  not  the  government’s  business  to  look  after  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


75 


people — that  “we  are  not  our  brothers  keeper.”  For- 
getting that  this  language  was  used  first  by  a mur- 
derer who  was  trying  to  conceal  his  crime. 

Who  can  estimate  the  benefit  our  country  would 
derive  in  one  hundred  years  time  from  this  vast  army 
of  men,  if  they  were  compelled  to  engage  in  some 
useful  occupation?  If  they  could  get  but  3 per  cent 
for  their  money,  they  would  prefer  to  invest  in  some 
factory  or  other  enterprise,  for  the  employment  ot 
labor.  This  would  increase  the  demand  and  price 
for  labor.  Their  money  would  soon  be  in  circula- 
tion in  the  hands  of  the  people,  without  their  having 
to  pay  one  cent  of  interest.  One  or  two  men  would 
be  able  to  do  the  work  of  these  men,  and  in  a short 
time  the  postmasters  at  the  different  county  seats 
would  be  able  to  do  it  in  addition  to  their  other  du- 
ties. 

People  would  become  so  prosperous  that  few  would 
want  to  borrow,  even  at  3 per  cent.  The  farmer  who 
is  now  paying  these  high  rates  of  interest  can  lift 
the  mortgage  on  his  place  with  3 per  cent  money,  and 
gradually  get  out  of  debt.  If  it  is  expected  that  he 
will  ever  get  out  of  debt,  by  paying  the  present  rate 
of  interest,  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  can  get  out 
sooner  at  a lower  rate.  It  must  also  be  admitted, 
that  the  less  interest  money  he  is  compelled  to  pay, 
the  more  prosperous  he  is.  His  increased  prosper- 
ity enables  him  to  pay — compels  him  to  pay — an  in- 
creased price  for  labor.  In  this  way  the  poor  man 


76 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


who  has  no  property  to  put  up  as  security,  derives  a 
benefit  from  government  loans. 

The  men  who  now  own  their  farms  will  be  able  to 
keep  them.  They  will  not  be  compelled  to  sell  them 
to  keep  the  sheriff  from  making  a sale.  How  many 
of  the  men  who  owned  farms  fifteen  years  ago  own 
them  now?  I venture  to  say  not  more  than  one  in 
twenty.  What  has  become  of  the  other  nineteen? 
Most  of  them  were  compelled  to  sell  out.  Old  Shy- 
lock  had  a death  grip  on  them.  They  have  gone  fur- 
ther west  where  land  is  cheaper. 

In  a few  years  from  now,  many  more  of  our  far- 
mers will  have  to  travel  the  same  road.  In  fact  they 
are  traveling  that  road  to-day.  We  are  told  that  this 
is  a benefit  to  our  country.  That  wealthier  men  are 
taking  the  places  of  the  poor  ones,  who  are  moving 
away.  This  is  true,  but  it  only  proves  that  poor  men 
are  being  crowded  to  the  wall  for  the  benefit  of  those 
with  greater  capital.  But  this  is  not  a matter  of  such 
serious  consequence  so  long  as  there  is  plenty  of  va- 
cant lands.  But  “Uncle  Sam”  will  not  always  be 
rich  enough  to  give  us  all  a farm. 

When  the  government  land  is  all  occupied,  which 
can  only  be  a few  years  at  the  longest,  and 
these  poor  wretches  are  no  longer  able  to  find  cheap 
lands,  what  will  be  the  result?  They  will  become 
tenants,  subject  in  time  to  eviction  and  all  the  at- 
tendant evils  of  a British  landlord  system.  But  we 
are  told  the  American  people  will  never  submit  to 
it.  They  would  have  been  compelled  to  submit  to  it, 


77 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 

ere  this  had  it  not  been  for  our  boundless  resources, 
and  unlimited  area  of  public  land. 

Our  country  has  prospered.  Indeed  it  has.  Our 
resources  and  natural  advantages  are  greater  than 
those  of  any  other  nation  on  earth.  America  is  still 
the  best  country  in  the  world  and,  as  good  patriot- 
ic citizens,  we  should  strive  to  keep  it  so.  We  have 
prospered  in  spite  of  bad  laws  and  wicked  systems, 
but  not  because  of  them.  We  even  prospered  in 
spite  of  African  slavery,  but  that  prosperity  was  not 
due  to  slavery.  Neither  is  our  present  prosperity 
due  to  the  usury  system.  While  our  material  wealth 
has  increased  at  a wonderful  rate,  it  has  been,  and 
is  being  now,  concentrated  in  a few  men’s  hands. 
Millionaires  and  paupers  are  also  increasing.  There 
must  naturally  follow  hundreds  of  paupers  for  every 
millionaire. 

“ There  are  two  things,”  says  Socrates,  “which 
the  magistrates  of  Athens  will  be  careful  to  keep 
out  of  our  city — opulence  and  poverty.  Opulence 
because  it  engenders  effeminacy;  poverty  because 
it  produces  baseness;  both  because  they  lead  to  re- 
volution.” 

It  has  well  been  said  that  these  two  evils  go  hand 
in  hand.  One  cannot  exist  without  the  other.  They 
are  the  two  extremes  of  one  evil. 

Another  consideration  of  government  loans  will 
be  the  regulation  of  the  volume  of  money.  As 
the  law  now  stands,  the  bankers  can  expand  or  con- 
tract the  volume  of  money  to  almost  any  extent.  It 


78 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


was  only  a few  years  ago — 1878 — that  they  gave  us 
an  illustration  of  their  power,  withdrawing  $19,000,- 
000  from  circulation  in  a few  weeks’ time,  almost 
producing  a panic,  and  compelling  the  president  of 
the  United  States  to  veto  a law  of  congress. 

About  that  time,  the  bank  journals  of  the  east  op- 
enly boasted  that  the  banks,  by  concerted  action, 
could  in  a short  time  defeat  any  measure  of  - con- 
gress that  was  detrimental  to  their  interests.  We  all 
know  the  effect  of  contraction  and  expansion  of  the 
volume  of  money.  The  price  of  every  day’s  labor, 
and  every  bushel  of  grain,  is  regulated  by  it.  By 
this  means  the  bankers  have  it  in  their  power  to 
make  low  prices  or  high  prices,  and  they  never  fail 
to  use  this  power  in  their  own  interests.  In  a speech 
in  congress,  Garfield  said,  u Whoever  controls  the 
volume  of  our  currency  is  absolute  master  of  the  in- 
dustries and  commerce  of  the  country.” 

With  government  loans,  under  proper  regulations, 
this  power  would  be  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
bankers  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
It  may  be  said  th%t  if  it  is  wrong  for  individuals 
to  loan  money,  it  is  wrong  for  the  government.  But 
this  is  not  true.  The  government  may  properly — 
and  must  necessarily — do  many  thingswliicli  would 
be  improper  for  individuals  to  do.  The  government 
makes  money,  but  if  the  individual  undertakes  it, 
although  he  may  use  the  same  material  and  make  a 
perfect  imitation,  he  is  sentenced  to  state’s  prison. 


CHARLES  H.  LITCHMAN, 
General  Secretary,  K.  of  L. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


81 


Then  again,  the  people  as  a whole,  get  every  dollar 
of  money  derived  from  government  loans. 

Under  the  present  system  a favored  class  get  it. 
In  the  one  case  the  people  get  the  benefit;  in  the 
other,  a few  rich  speculators  derive  all  the  benefits  at 
the  expense  of  the  poorest  class  in  the  community. 
We  have  only  to  choose  between  these  two  classes. 
Which  shall  be  rewarded,  the  poor  laborer  or  the 
wealthy  idler? 

It  is  often  said  that  men  have  the  same  right  to 
receive  pay  for  the  use  of  money,  that  they  have  to 
receive  pay  for  the  use  of  a horse.  Again  there  is  a 
difference.  Money  is  not  only  a public  necessity  but  it 
is  a medium  of  exchange,  an  implement  of  trade  and, 
in  one  sense,  a measure  of  values.  It  is  the  only  le. 
gal  tender  for  the  payment  of  debts.  To  be  in  debt 
is  to  be  a slave,  and  he  who  controls  the  one  thing 
that  can  legally  cancel  a debt  is  the  master.  And 
as  Mr.  Garfield  has  said,  is  absolute  dictator  over  our 
industries  and  commerce. 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  wealthy — and  by 
the  way,  one  of  the  most  “dangerous  classes” — may 
control  it  by  means  of  usury.  One  dollar,  or  even 
one  cent,  placed  at  the  lowest  possible  rate  of  inter- 
est, if  allowed  to  run  long  enough, will  absorb  every 
dollar  in  the  world.  This  fact  of  itself,  is  proof  that 
usury  should  be  prohibited.  It  is  possible  with  the 
aid  of  a few  other  wicked  customs  and  laws,  for  a 
few  men  to  own  every  dollar  in  the  United  States. 


82 


THE  VOICE  OE  LABOR. 


These  means  have  been  used  to  a greater  extent  than 
war,  to  bring  about  the  conquest  of  nations. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  total  amount  of  indebted- 
ness, both  public  and  private,  in  the  United  States, 
is  about  twenty  billion  dollars.  Every  dollar  of  this 
is  drawing  interest,  and  every  dollar  of  this  interest 
is  paid  by  labor.  There  comes  a time  every  few 
years  when  the  interest  falling  due  on  this  enormous 
debt,  amounts  to  more  than  every  dollar  in  circula- 
tion. The  result  is  a financial  crisis  — a panic. 
Sometimes  it  is  temporarily  postponed,  but  it  is  just 
as  sure  to  come,  as  effect  follows  cause. 

The  men  who  control  the  currency — the  one  thing 
with  which  this  interest  can  be  paid — will  not  let  it 
out.  They  draw  it  in  as  fast  as  possible  to  hoard  it 
up.  The  law  gives  them  this  power  and  they  use  it. 
They  make  money  by  it,  and  that  is  what  this  class 
of  men  live  for.  It  is  their  sole  object  in  life — the 
summit  of  their  ambition. 

They  demand  the  pound  of  flesh  and  get  it,  but 
they  laugh  in  their  sleeves  to  think  that  their  poor 
victims  have  not  the  manhood,  patriotism — not  even 
the  good  sense,  to  resist  it.  Men  are  thrown  out  of 
employment.  Prices  go  down.  Money  is  hard  to 
get.  Men  are  compelled  to  part  with  their  property 
for  less  than  it  is  worth — even  less  than  it  cost.  Paup- 
ers, tramps  and  criminals  increase.  Law-suits  and 
other  calamities  which  naturally  follow  in  the  wake 
of  hard  times,  come  in  their  order. 

Hypocritical  politicians,  claiming  to  be  statesmen, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


83 


have  educated  the  people  to  believe  that  a panic  once 
in  eight  or  ten  years,  is  a necessary  consequence  of 
good  government.  Sensible  people  absolutely  enter- 
tain this  foolish  notion.  Some  of  them  believe  this 
from  the  same  reason  that  they  hold  on  to  many 
other  absurd  opinions  regarding  finance — because 
their  fathers  before  them  believed  it.  The  thought 
never  enters  their  minds,  that  they  are  the  result  of 
the  manipulations  of  selfish  and  designing  men. 

There  is  another  difference  between  the  hire  of  a 
horse,  and  the  hire  of  money.  The  horse  must  be  fed 
and  attended.  This  is  not  necessary  with  money. 
The  horse  will  wear  out;  money  will  not.  The  horse 
will  grow  old;  money  will  not.  Money  is  just  as 
valuable  as  it  was  before.  The  horse  is  not.  The 
argument  which  applies  to  one,  does  not  apply  to  the 
other. 

Our  opponents  will  tell  you  that  if  all  the  wealth 
of  the  world  was  divided  equally  among  men,  it 
would  not  be  long  before  a few  men  would  again 
have  i't  all.  This  is  an  “old  song,”  and  some  men 
have  repeated  it  so  often  they  really  believe  there  is 
argument  in  it.  We  admit  that  this  would  be  the 
result,  if  the  cause  is  not  removed.  The  same  cause 
will  invariably  produce  the  same  effect.  Abolish 
usury,  and  other  wicked  systems,  and  the  result  will 
be  different.  This  is  what  every  just  man  should 
try  to  do — remove  the  cause. 

We  admit  that  some  men  will  grow  rijh  faster 
than  others  under  a perfect  system  of  laws.  The 


84 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


man  who  is  more  industrious  than  his  indolent  neigh- 
bor ought  to  receive  more  pay;  but  let  us  bear  in 
mind  that  there  is  a difference  between  the  industri- 
ous man  and  a miser.  The  man  who  hoards  his 
wealth,  and  whose  whole  object  in  life  is  the  accu- 
mulation of  wealth,  is  a ten  times  greater  curse  to 
society  than  the  indolent  man. 

There  is  another  class  of  men  who  will  always 
grow  rich  faster  than  their  neighbors — the  sharp  un- 
principled men.  Because  nature  has  given  them 
the  advantage  of  their  fellows  is  no  reason  why  the 
laws  should  step  in  and  give  them  still  greater  ad- 
vantages. These  are  the  strong  men.  They  need 
no  special  legislation  in  their  behalf.  The  object  of 
law  is  supposed  to  be  the  protection  of  the  weak 
against  the  oppressions  of  the  strong.  Blackstone 
defines  law  as  “ a rule  of  action,  etc.,  commanding 
that  which  is  right  and  prohibiting  that  which  is 
wrong.”  Any  law  for  the  effectual  abolition  of 
usury  will  be  a means  of  enforcing  this  principle. 

But  it  is  not  asked  that  there  shall  be  a division 
of  property.  We  would  not  have  one  dollar  of  Shy- 
lock’s  ill-gotten  gains  taken  from  him.  We  only  ask 
that  he  be  restrained  from  further  robbery.  Com- 
munism in  any  form  is  bad,  but  that  particular  form 
which  takes  from  all  and  gives  to  all,  is  certainly  no 
worse  than  that  which  takes  from  the  many  and 
gives  to  the  few. 

There  is  but  one  just  rule  to  govern  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  that  is  this : That  every  person  should  re- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


85 


ceive  and  enjoy  the  full  value  of  the  product  of  his 
own  industry.  This  is  impossible  under  the  present 
system,  as  has  been  demonstrated.  If  it  be  true  that 
every  man  has  a right  to  the  product  of  his  own  la- 
bor, it  is  equally  certain  that  no  other  man  has  a 
right  to  it.  It  is  an  undisputed  fact  that  men  do  get 
more,  and  they  get  it  by  the  practice  of  usury.  If 
there  is  any  way  except  through  government  loans 
to  cut  off  this  practice,  it  has  been  beyond  the  wis- 
dom and  intelligence  of  man  to  discover  it. 


86 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  Y. 


THE  NATIONAL  BANKING  SYSTEM,  i 

THE  MONETARY  CHANGE  DEMANDED  BY  WORKINGMEN — - 
AIM  OF  THE  KNIGHTS  OF  LABOR SOULLESS  CORPORA- 
TIONS HAVE  NO  PITY ATTITUDE  OF  BANKING  COR- 
PORATIONS  “ SPECIE  BASIS  ” “ INTRINSIC  VALUE  ” 

“ HONEST  MONEY5’ MONEY  IN  ANCIENT  AGES 

IRON,  BRASS,  TIN,  CLOTH,  LEATHER  AND  WOODEN 

MONEY GREAT  FINANCIERS  ON  METALIC  MONEY 

HOW  THE  NATIONAL  BANKS  ABSORB.  THE  NATION’S 
WEALTH DEBT  THEIR  FOUNDATION HOW  THE  BANK- 
ERS SECURE  DOUBLE  INTEREST ENORMOUS  SUMS  OF 

MONEY  WITHDRAWN  FROM  JUST  TAXATION THE  IM- 

MENSE EARNINGS  OF  THE  INDIANAPOLIS  NATIONAL 
BANK — WHAT  WORKINGMEN  SHOULD  HAVE. 

The  Knights  of  Labor  demand  at  the  hands  of 
congress  a change  of  the  present  monetary  system, 
whereby  money  shall  issue  directly  to  the  people, 
and  that  all  of  the  national  money  shall  be  legal 
tender  for  all  debts.  No  other  clause  in  their  plat- 
form is  so  far-reaching  in  its  influence,  or  one  that 

1 By  J.  W.  Gaul.  s.  VY.  F.,  L.  A„  2691,  K.  of  L. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


87 


more  nearly  touches  the  vital  interests  of  the  people. 

Of  one  thing  we  may  rest  assured,  that  so  long 
as  the  financial  legislation  of  the  country  is  left  to 
be  controlled  by  a class  whose  interests  lie  in  the 
direction  of  increasing  and  perpetuating  the  indebt- 
edness of  the  country,  as  may  best  suit  their  own 
purposes,  so  long  as  that  class  retains  the  control, 
they  will  continue  to  wield  it  for  their  own  aggran- 
dizement, utterly  regardless  of  the  periodically  re- 
turning panics  that  sweep  over  the  land  like  cy- 
clones, leaving  ruin  and  desolation  in  their  track, 
and  just  so  long  will  the  toiling  millions  of  our 
brothers  be  deprived  of  the  full,  just  fruits  of  their 
labor,  and  remain  the  veriest  dependents,  the  “hew- 
ers of  wood  and  drawers  of  water”  for  soulless  cor- 
porations that  have  no  heart  and  no  pity. 

The  necessities  of  the  people  are  their  opportuni- 
ties. The  greater  their  extremities,  the  more  inflex- 
ible are  they  in  their  demands.  Those  who  control 
the  money  of  a country  control  all  else  that  it 
contains,  and  recognition  of  that  fact,  on  their  part, 
is  sufficient  explanation  of  the  stubborn  fight  they 
make  to  retain  it.  To-day  we  are  confronted  with 
just  such  a spectacle. 

In  this  boasted  “ land  of  the  free,”  a moneyed  ob- 
ligarchy,  composed  of  some  2,400  national  banks, 
boldly  and  openly  assume  it  as  their  right  to  dictate 
as  to  the  volume  of  our  currency,  the  nature  of  the 
material  that  shall  compose  it,  and  the  source  from 
which  it  shall  be  issued.  They  deny  the  right  and 


88 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


power  of  the  people  to  supply  themselves  through 
the  agency  of  the  government:  deny  that  the  law 
can  create  money,  except  its  material  be  gold,  or 
such  other  metal  as  their  unscrupulous  greed  may 
determine.  As  one  means  of  perpetuating  their 
power  they  strive  to  surround  the  whole  subject  with 
mystery  by  the  use  of  terms  invented  to  blind  and 
mislead,  thus  making  fraud  and  rascality  less  easily 
understood.  They  have  succeeded  to  a most  la- 
mentable extent  in  deceiving  the  producing  millions, 
whilst  they  themselves  are  not  deceived. 

“Specie  basis,”  “Intrinsic  value,”  and  “Honest 
money”  have  been  dinned  into  our  ears  unremitting- 
ly, and  industry  lies  prostrate,  millions  starve,  ruin 
stalks  through  the  land,  crime  increases,  strikes  and 
riots  prevail  and  blood  is  shed — all  this  while  “great 
financiers”  and  “wise  statesmen”  quibble  about  a 
few  grains  more  or  less  of  gold  or  silver  to  the  dol- 
lar. 

Let  us  turn  to  the  pages  of  history  and  see  if, 
from  the  practice  and  experience  of  the  past,  we 
cannot  learn  some  lessons  that  will  serve  to  expose 
the  falsity  of  the  ideas  they  have  so  assiduous- 
ly instilled  into  the  public  mind.  Centuries  before 
Christ,  money  was  found  to  be  necessary.  The  Jews 
used  many  forms,  substances  or  materials  for  money. 
For  a long  time  they  held  it  by  weight,  considering 
the  stamp  of  no  value.  They  did  not  seem  to  have 
any  confidence  in  any  form  of  government  they 
could  adopt,  or  in  its  durability,  nor  did  they 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


89 


have  confidence  in  themselves  sufficient  to  take  each 
others  notes  or  obligations  without  collaterals. 
They  demanded  property  for  property,  taking  noth- 
ing on  credit  except  accompanied  with  a bond  which 
would  hold  the  debtor  in  slavery,  even  to  death,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  creditors.  Services  were  paid  for 
in  female  children,  in  cattle,  sheep  or  asses. 

For  a long  time  cattle  were  held  as  ready  money 
by  the  ancient  Romans  and  Grecians,  and.  were  de- 
clared a legal  tender  for  the  payment  of  debts.  In 
Rome  seven  hundred  years  before  Christ,  by  edict 
of  Pompilius,  the  legal  tender  money  was  made  of 
two  materials,  wood  and  leather.  The  leather  was 
the  most  valuable,  while  small  pieces  of  wood,  re- 
sembling button  moulds,  constituted  the  small 
change. 

Pompilius  refused  to  place  his  stamp,  by  which 
money  was  created,  upon  gold  and  silver,  consider- 
ing them  too  expensive  to  be  used  for  such  a pur- 
pose. He  established  a treasury  department  and 
gave  his  chief  officer  of  finance  the  right  to  fix  the 
stamp  of  the  emperor  upon  pieces  of  white  leather, 
and  burn  it  upon  circular  pieces  of  the  hardest  vari- 
ety of  wood  that  could  be  obtained.  Both  kinds 
were  legal  tender  for  all  debts.  It  was  given  by 
th*e  king  to  all  who  served  him,  or  furnished  proper- 
ty. The  man  receiving  it  could  pay  it  to  the  man 
he  was  indebted  to,  and  by  law  it  settled  the  debt. 
Thus  it  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  until  it  came, 
through  the  tax  collector,  back  into  the  treasury, 


90 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


when  it  was  again  paid  out,  and  after  due  time  again 
taken  in.  This  was  the  money  of  Pompilius  during 
liis  reign. 

Had  he  been  as  wise  as  our  modern  financiers, 
and  as  anxious  for  the  interests  of  the  people,  when 
the  wooden  and  leather  money  had  reached  the 
treasury,  he  would  have  refused  to  re-issue  it,  but 
would  have  “contracted  the  circulation”  by  de- 
stroying it,  and  have  given  to  the  holders  interest 
bearing  non-taxable  bonds.  He  was  not  far-seeing 
enough  to  appreciate  the  blessing  he  would  have 
conferred  upon  the  people  and  their  posterity,  by 
plunging  them  into  debt.  He  was  woefully  blind 
to  the  great  truth-^-“A  national  debt  is  a national 
blessing.” 

Had  the  kingdom  of  Pompilius  been  a republic, 
intended  to  endure  forever,  with  no  break  in  the 
law  or  power,  with  the  people  electing  the  presi- 
dents and  the  successors  to  administer  the  one  di- 
rect, non-elastic  law,  there  would  have  been  no  de- 
mand for  other  money,  because  property  of  all  kinds 
could  be  accumulated  with  money  made  of  wood 
and  leather,  as  well  as  upon  money  made  of  gold 
or  silver. 

The  national  banks  deny  the  power  of  this  sover- 
eign government  of  the  people  to  create  money  of 
paper.  They  persistently  refuse  to  recognize  the 
greenback  as  absolute  money,  but  name  it  as  a 
debt  to  be  paid  in  gold.  They  insist  that  money 
must  have  “intrinsic  value”  in  its  material,  and  that 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


91 


“ intrinsic  value”  makes  it  money,  and  not  the 
stamp,  decree,  edict,  or,  if  you  please,  the  “ fiat'’ 
of  the  law.  What  made  the  wood  and  leather  of 
Home,  money — “intrinsic  value?”  No,  it  was  the 
edict,  the  “fiat”  of  Pompilius,  as  expressed  and  cer- 
tified by  the  stamp  of  the  royal  seal,  affixed  thereon 
by  his  decree. 

Woe  would  have  been  to  the  traitor  who  had  dared 
to  deny  it.  With  it  the  commerce  of  Pome  was 
carried  on,  her  armies  were  equipped  and  maintain- 
ed, her  public  buildings  were  erected,  her  internal 
improvements  achieved;  with  it  her  children  were 
educated,  and  all  her  citizens  fed,  housed  and  cloth- 
ed. With  money  of  wood  and  leather,  Pome  pros- 
pered, and  pursued  steadily  her  onward  march  to 
imperial  greatness. 

The  first  sixty  millions  of  treasury  notes  issued 
by  the  government  of  this  country,  were  legal  ten- 
der at  their  face  value,  for  all  debts  without  an  ex- 
ception, and  never  for  one  hour,  from  the  date  of 
issue  to  the  present  time  have  they  been  less  valua- 
ble than  gold,  but  actually  commanded  a premium 
over  gold  on  account  of  their  greater  convenience. 
The  bankers  recognize  that  fact,  and  acknowledged 
them  to  be  money,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term, 
by  the  very  haste  they  made  to  obtain  possession  of, 
and  hold  them,  and  the  frantic  clamor  they  raised 
to  prevent  further  issue  of  the  same  kind.  Like 
Demetrius,  the  silversmith,  they  perceived  their 
«raft  was  in  danger. 


92 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Tlie  Carthagenians,  for  several  generations  used 
leather  money,  until  there  was  such  an  abundance 
of  gold  and  silver  among  the  people  that  they  did 
not  know  what  to  do  with  it,  and  so  used  it  under 
the  stamp  of  government  as  money.  How  was  it 
that  their  “cheap”  leather  money  did  not  drive 
all  the  gold  and  silver  away?  That  is  what  our  “fi- 
nanciers,” with  owl-like  gravity,  say  would  be  the 
effect  of  our  issuing  “ cheap”  paper  money. 

In  1158,  Frederick  Barbarossa,  during  his  con- 
test with  Milan,  carried  on  war  and  afterwards  the 
industries  of  peace, with  leather  legal  tender  money. 
During  this  period  gold  was  demonetized;  was  sim- 
ply property.  King  John  of  France,  in  1360,  issu- 
ed an  immense  quantity  of  leather  money.  William 
I,  of  Sicily,  during  periods  of  time  between  1154 
and  1156  compelled  the  Sicilians  to  surrender  their 
gold  and  silver  and  receive  in  exchange  leather 
money,  which  was  not  redeemable  in  gold  or  silver, 
but  possessed  of  full  legal  tender  power.  This  broke 
up  the  gold  ring  of  that  country  and  gave  the  peo- 
ple a respite  from  usurers,  so  they  became  prosper- 
ous. The  continued  issue  of  them  would  have  an- 
nihilated the  gold  ring  here,  and  have  forever  eman- 
cipated labor  from  its  burdensome  and  infamous 
exactions. 

Spain  and  Italy  used  leather  money  as  late  as 
1574.  China,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  used  the 
middle  bark  of  the  mulberry  tree  stamped  with  a 
mark  representing  the  signature  of  the  sovereign 


HON.  W.  D.  YINCENT. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


95 


who  issued  it.  It  was  death  to  counterfeit  or  refuse 
it.  In  1574  the  Hollanders  used  pasteboard.  In 
1635  the  colonists  of  Massachusetts  used  wampum, 
as  full  legal  tender,  and  musket  balls  as  small  change 
at  a farthing  each,  and  legal  tender  in  sums  under 
one  shilling.  Slaves,  land,  iron,  bronze,  brass,  tin, 
pieces  of  cloth,  and  numerous  other  things  have 
been  used  as  money,  at  various  times  and  places. 
All  served  as,  and  were,  money  just  as  long  as  the 
law  declared  they  should  be  legal  tender  for  all 
debts. 

The  republic  of  Venice  for  over  four  hundred 
years  issued  paper  as  its  sole  currency.  It  passed 
the  world  over,  and  commanded  a premium  of  twen- 
ty-eight percent  over  the  money  of  any  other  coun- 
try, never  for  one  moment  depreciating.  Venice 
received  it,  as  she  issued  it,  for  all  dues.  History 
through  all  the  centuries  past,  brands  as  false  the 
wilful  statements  and  juggling  sophistries  used  in 
behalf  of  “intrinsic  value”  money,  and  conclusively 
proves  that  money  is  an  absolute  creation  of  the 
law,  and  “fiat”  alone  is  the  power  that  confers  full 
debt  paying  quality. 

Charles  Moran,  a distinguished  French  writer  on 
political  economy,  says:  “Metalic  money  whilst 
acting  as  coin  is  identical  with  paper  money  in 
respect  to  being  destitute  of  intrinsic  value.  Coin, 
so  long  as  it  circulates  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
and  selling,  for  the  time  loses  its  intrinsic  value.  As 
commodities,  gold  and  silver  are  capital,  but  as 


96 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


money  they  are  mere  representatives  of  value.”  Of 
paper  money,  he  says:  “ The  simplest  and  most 
perfect  form  of  currency  is  that  which  represents 
transferable  debt — paper  money  with  no  intrinsic 
value.  It  is  only  when  states  have  reached  a high 
state  of  civilization  that  they  adopt  this  perfect  sort 
of  money.” 

Such  men  as  Baron  Rothschild,  Fanchette,  Isaac 
Buchanan,  A.  H.  Gaston,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  Wil- 
liam II.  Harrison,  Daniel  Webster,  and  Buckles’ 
History  of  English  Commerce,  might  be  quoted  as 
to  the  effects  of  contraction,  the  unsuitability  of  a 
metalic  currency,  the  power  of  the  government  to 
issue  paper  currency,  etc. 

In  speaking  against  the  proposition  to  establish  a 
United  States  national  bank,  Henry  Clay  said:  “I 
conceive  the  establishment  of  this  bank  as  danger- 
ous to  the  welfare  and  safety  of  this  republic.” 

“ Specie  basis,”  is  another  bugbear  flaunted  be- 
fore us.  Let  us  see  what  it  amounts  to.  Bonamy 
Price,  the  English  economist,  says  that  the  business 
of  England  is  done  with  ninety-seven  per  cent  bank 
checks,  drafts,  bills  of  exchange  and  notes;  two  and 
one-half  per  cent  with  paper  currency,  and  fifty  cents 
gold  to  every  one  hundred  dollars  of  the  aggregate 
business  transactions.  The  same  holds  good  in  this 
country,  yet  our  bankers  speak  of  “ specie  basis,” 
and  affect  a horror  of  inflation  of  cheap  paper  in 
face  of  those  facts. 

The  interest  of  money  loaners  and  banking  syn- 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


97 


dicates  is  to  have  money  scarce;  to  have  it  of  mate- 
rial the  most  costly  possible:  and  if  by  any  means 
it  is  likely  to  become  otherwise,  they  will  immedi- 
ately exert  every  effort  to  have  it  substituted  with 
another  kind.  A strenuous  effort  is  being  made  to 
suspend  coinage  of  silver,  in  short,  to  drive  it  out 
of  our  monetary  system.  The  mono-metalists  insist 
that  its  presence  there  is  dangerous  to  the  business 
interests  of  the  country,  and  that  a wise  regard  for 
the  preservation  of  those  interests,  and  of  course  the 
prosperity  of  labor,  demands  that  it  be  practically 
demonetized.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  poor 
dupes  swallow  the  bait,  and  believe  in  the  sincerity 
of  their  motives. 

Baron  Rothschild  understands  finance  quite  as 
well.as  our  financiers,  and  says:  “The  suppression 
(demonetization)  of  silver  would  amount  to  a veri- 
table destruction  of  values  without  any  compensa- 
tion.” M.  Wolowski,  a European  financier,  says: 
“If  by  a stroke  of  the  pen,  they  suppress  one  of 
their  metals  (gold  or  silver)  in  the  monetary  service, 
they  double  the  demand  for  the  other  metal,  to  the 
ruin  of  all  debtors.”  The  truth  of  these  statements 
is  self-evident.  President  Harrison,  in  his  inaugu- 
ral speech,  made  the  following  remark:  “If  there 
be  one  measure  better  calculated  than  another  to 
produce  that  state  of  things  where  the  rich  are  daily 
getting  richer,  and  the  poor  are  daily  getting  poorer, 
it  is  a metalic  currency.” 

What  is  this  national  banking  system  ? Its  foun- 


98 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


dation  is  the  interest  bearing,  bonded  indebtedness 
of  the  people,  and  upon  the  perpetuation  of  that 
debt  its  existence  depends.  The  full  legal  tender 
power  was  taken  from  the  treasury  notes;  they  are 
not  received  for  custom  dues,  or  interest  on  the  pub- 
lic debt,  and  they  must  be  paid  in  gold.  A law  was 
passed  to  authorize  the  issuing  of  bonds,  bearing  in- 
terest, into  which  we  can  convert,  or  by  which  we 
can  redeem  the  greenbacks. 

The  foundation  was  now  laid  for  a perpetual  debt, 
to  be  saddled  upon  industry  and  serve  as  a basis  for 
the  banking  system.  Congress  authorized  the  es- 
tablishment of  a national  system  of  banking  upon 
the  basis  ot  depositing  the  bonds  with  the  United 
States  treasurer,  as  security  for  our  circulation:  the 
bonds  thus  deposited  to  continue  drawing  interest, 
and  to  be  exempt  from  all  taxation.  A national 
currency  was  supplied  to  constitute  our  circulation, 
at  the  rate  of  ninety  per  cent  of  the  face  of  the  bond 
deposit. 

On  the  sale  of  bonds  from  1862  to  1868,  embrac- 
ing seven  issues  of  six  per  cent,  and  one  of  five  per 
cent  bonds,  according  to  a statistical  table  prepared, 
the  people  lost,  and  the  bondholders  gained,  the 
enormous  sum  of  $678,551,460.  In  fifteen  years, 
labor  paid  as  interest  on  bonds,  nearly  $1,700,000,- 
000,  and  also  paid  to  bankers  and  money  lenders 
during  the  same  period,  as  estimated  by  the  Nation- 
al Banking  Association,  over  $5,000,000,000.  In 
twelve  years  of  that  time  it  was  directly  taxed  over 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


99 


$1,200,000,000,  the  amount  of  currency  taken  from 
the  channels  of  trade  and  converted  into  idle,  un- 
taxed bonds.  The  money  so  taken  from  circulation, 
was,  at  the  behest  of  this  grasping  money  power, 
never  reissued,  but  cancelled  and  consigned  to  the 
flames. 

For  further  illustration,  let  us  take  the  report  of 
Hon.  ¥m.  E.  English,  retiring  from  the  presidency 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Indianapolis:  “ I 
congratulate  the  officers  and  stockholders  of  our  en- 
terprise. The  bank  has  been  in  operation  fourteen 
years  under  my  control,  with  a capital  of  $500,000. 
In  the  meantime  it  has  voluntarily  returned  $500,- 
000  of  capital  stock  back  to  its  stockholders,  besides 
paying  them  in  dividends  $1,496,250,  a part  of 
which  was  in  gold.  And  I now  turn  it  over  to  you, 
with  a capital  unimpaired,  and  $327,000  of  undivid- 
ed earnings  on  hand.  To  this  may  be  added  the 
premiums  of  United  States  bonds,  at  present  prices 
amounting  to  $36,000,  besides  quite  a large  amount 
for  lost  or  destroyed  bills.” 

Total  amount  of  profit  in  fourteen  years,  on  half 
a million  dollars  capital — $2,383,250  ! 

The  whole  burden  rests  upon  the  shoulders  of 
labor,  since  labor  alone  can  supply  the  means  of 
paying  the  enormous  tribute  so  pitilessly  exacted. 
The  cause  of  labor  demands  that  the  bonds  be 
paid,  that  congress  shall  not  delegate  the  control  of 
the  currency  to  any  one  class  of  citizens,  or  issue 


100 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


interest  bearing  obligations,  and  that  a purely  na- 
tional currency  shall  issue  directly  to  the  people, 
based  upon  the  credit  of  the  people,  a legal  ten- 
der sufficient  for  commerce  and  productive  in- 
dustry. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


101 


CHAPTER  YI. 


TRANSPORTATION.! 

GOVERNMENT  PREROGATIVES  DANGEROUS  IN  THE  HANDS 

OF  CORPORATIONS — NO  ONE  CLASS  INDEPENDENT 

CORPORATIONS  NOT  ENTITLED  TO  DISCRIMINATION 

THE  COUNTRY  SUFFERING  FROM  RAILROAD  EXTOR- 
TIONS  WHAT  THE  BALLOT  SHOULD  ACCOMPLISH — 

THE  TELEGRAPHS TELEPHONES RAILROADS THE 

GOVERNMENT’S  SUCCESS  WITH  THE  POSTAL  SYSTEM 

THE  POWER  OF  SYNDICATES  AND  CORPORATIONS 

THEIR  IMMENSE  WEALTH — DANIEL  WEBSTER’S  GREAT 
WARNING. 

The  opinion  of  the  workingmen  upon  the  subject 
of  transportation,  is  fully  expressed  in  the  eigh- 
teenth section  of  the  preamble  of  the  principles  de- 
clared by  the  Knights  of  Labor.  In  a recent  ad- 
dress, Mr.  J.  R.  Sovereign  made  the  following  re- 
marks: 

To  delegate  any  of  the  prerogatives  of  republican 
government  to  private  individuals  or  corporations, 

1 By  J.  R.  Sovereign.  L.  A„2116,  K.  of  L. 


102 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


is  dangerous  to  national  liberty  and  personal  secur- 
ity. That  the  operation  of  the  great  agencies  for 
transporting  intelligence,  passengers  and  freight,  is 
clearly  the  duty  of  the  government,  can  scarcely  be 
doubted.  For  when  we  consider  the  fact  that  they 
control  the  destinies  of  the  nation;  that  they  are  the 
mighty  cords  which  bind  us  together  as  one  people, 
we  can  only  conclude  that  the  rights,  the  liberty  and 
the  happiness  of  every  citizen  depends  upon  the 
operation  of  such  agencies  in  such  a way  as  will 
preclude  the  possibility  of  private  interest  menacing 
the  public  welfare. 

It  is  a great  truth  that  no  part  of  this  nation  pro- 
duces all  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life,  and 
that  no  man  produces  with  his  own  hands  a suffici- 
ency to  feed,  clothe  and  house  himself  and  those 
dependent  upon  him.  Every  toiler,  then,  marches 
to  the  music  of  machinery  and  the  hum  of  industry, 
upon  the  hope  that  he  can  produce  more  of  one  par- 
ticular article  than  he  wants  for  himself,  and  that 
he  can  distribute  his  surplus  productions  among 
n?en  engaged  in  other  vocations,  and  receive  in 
exchange  a just  proportion  of  their  productions. 

For  instance,  it  is  by  this  means,  and  this  alone, 
that  the  farmers  of  the  West  are  permitted  to  wear 
the  clothing  made  in  the  East,  and  the  weavers  and 
clothing  makers  of  the  East  are  permitted  to  eat  the 
bread  raised  in  the  West. 

In  fact,  the  prosperity  of  every  people  may  be 
measured  not  alone  by  their  power  to  produce  but 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


103 


by  their  opportunities  to  distribute  as  well.  It  is, 
therefore,  one  of  the  first  duties  of  government  to 
see  that  nowhere  on  the  great  highways  of  dis- 
tribution, shall  the  people  be  subjected  to  rank 
discriminations  or  unjust  exactions.  This  prin- 
ciple is  the  corner  stone  of  republican  government, 
and  the  bed-rock  of  American  society.  With  faith 
in  the  enforcement  of  this  principle,  the  people  have 
penetrated  the  dark  forest  and  the  unbroken  waste, 
reared  great  cities,  built  homes,  erected  factories 
and  developed  industries. 

How  is  this  principle  of  justice  to  be  guaranteed 
to  every  citizen  of  this  great  nation,  and  every  stumb- 
ling stone  which  greed  and  avarice  has  erected 
upon  the  avenues  of  transportation  to  be  re- 
moved % 

There  is  but  one  method  that  will  embody  all  the 
safe  guards  of  justice,  and  that  is  for  the  govern- 
ment to  become  the  owner  and  operator  of  all  tele- 
graphs, telephones  and  railroads. 

Ah  ! but  says  some  one,  there  is  an  easier  way  and 
shorter  road  to  a remedy  for  all  these  evils.  Let 
the  corporations  continue  to  own  the  telegraphs, 
telephones  and  railroads,  and  the  government  con- 
trol them  by  statutory  enactment. 

Municipal  law,  says  a great  jurist,  is  the  rule  of 
civil  conduct  prescribed  by  the  supreme  power  in  a 
state,  commanding  what  is  right  and  prohibiting 
what  is  wrong.  And  while  I hold  this  definition  to 
be  true,  yet  there  is  not  a teacher  in  jurisprudence, 


104 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


there  is  not  a practitioner  at  the  bar,  nor  a judge  on 
the  bench,  who  will  not  freely  confess  that  to  combine 
private  interests  with  government  functions  and  pub- 
lic agencies,  jeopardizes  liberty  and  places  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  outside  of  the  pale  of  statu- 
tory enactments. 

To  combine  corporate  interests  with  public  insti- 
tutions always  involves  the  government  in  an  irre- 
pressible conflict  and  a never-ending  struggle  for  su- 
premacy, and  is  always  a question  of  doubt  with  the 
people,  as  to  whether  the  government  controls  the 
corporations,  or  the  corporations  control  the  govern- 
ment. Viewed  in  the  light  of  history,  this  doubt  is 
dispelled  by  a preponderance  of  evidence  showing 
that  corporations  control  the  government. 

In  solving  the  powers  of  government,  we  must  not 
forget  that  there  are  impossibilities  in  law,  and  the 
benefits  of  a law  depends  upon  the  power  of  a gov- 
ernment to  enforce  it  in  spirit,  without  giving  life  to 
others  and  more  dangerous  evils. 

To-day  our  people  are  suffering  from  railroad  ex- 
tortions. Let  our  government  pass  a law  prohibit- 
ing such  extortions,  and,  if  need  be,  enforce  it  with 
the  strong  arm  of  the  military,  and  who  will  prevent 
the  railroad  companies  from  retaliating  with  a pro- 
portionate reduction  of  the  wages  of  their  employes. 
Who  will  prevent  them  from  wreaking  their  venge- 
ance upon  the  law  by  discharging  free  American 
laborers,  and  contracting  in  a great  measure  the  me- 
chanical operation  of  the  roads  with  Polish,  Italian 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


105 


and  Hungarian  serfs  ? It  is  folly  to  say  we  can  pre- 
vent such  an  evil  by  prohibiting  the  importation  of 
foreign  serfs,  for  the  serfs  are  already  here  in  count- 
less numbers,  and.  are  ready  to  bow  at  the  bidding 
of  corporate  greed. 

Let  our  government  enact  a law  preventing  rail- 
roads from  discriminating  against  persons  and  lo- 
calities, and  who  shall  have  authority  and  power  to 
prevent  the  railroad  companies  from  engaging  in 
mining,  manufacturing  and  other  industries,  and 
put  their  own  products  on  the  market  at  such  prices 
as  to  force  into  bankruptcy  all  opposition.  Ah  ! 
says  one,  under  such  circumstances  could  not  the 
government  resort  to  the  Missouri  law,  and  the  laws 
of  other  states,  prohibiting  railroad  companies  from 
engaging  in  any  other  business  than  the  operation 
of  their  roads?  Yes,  we  could  resort  to  a great 
many  farces.  How  often  has  this  power  of  govern- 
ment been  tested  and  found  too  tardy  to  meet  the 
demands  of  justice?  Nearly  a quarter  of  a cen- 
tury ago  our  law-makers  framed  out  to  opulent  and 
arrogant  corporations,  the  monetary  prerogatives  of 
the  nation.  In  that  law  is  combined  private  gain 
with  the  functions  of  government.  But  the  govern- 
ment sought  to  control  it  in  the  interests  of  the  peo- 
ple by  statutory  enactment,  which  provided  among 
other  restrictions  that  no  national  bank  should  charge 
or  receive  a greater  rate  of  interest  than  that  pre- 
scribed by  the  laws  of  the  state  in  which  the  bank 
was  operated,  and  that  no  national  bank  should  re- 
9 


106 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ceive  real  estate  security  for  the  loan  of  its  notes. 
How  is  that  law  respected  and  obeyed  ? 

As  an  expression  of  their  defiance  of  law  and  the 
expressed  will  of  the  people,  a little  office  adjacent 
to  nearly  every  national  bank  in  the  land,  is  appro- 
priately furnished,  and  in  these  private  offices  you 
will  find  the  cappers  of  the  banks  wrho  loan  the 
funds  of  the  banks  under  the  pretense  of  private  ac- 
count, at  from  one  to  two  per  cent  per  month,  and  on 
real  estate  security.  Here  is  a striking  illustration 
of  the  inability  of  the  government  to  control  public 
institutions  when  combined  with  private  interests. 
They  have  defied  law,  they  have  clasped  their  icy 
fetters  about  the  throats  of  presidents,  and  now 
openly  boast  that,  on  a single  day’s  notice,  they  can 
act  together  with  such  power  that  no  act  of  con- 
gress can  resist  their  demands. 

Let  our  government  attempt  to  control  telegraphs, 
telephones  and  railroads  while  they  are  permeated 
with  corporate  greed,  and  who  shall  be  the  giant  to 
march  forth  upon  the  plain  of  equal  and  exact  jus- 
tice, and  wring  out  the  four  billion  dollars  of  wa- 
tered stocks  which  the  confederate  monopolies  of  to- 
day are  using,  as  an  instrument  of  torture  and  a har- 
binger of  slavery,  that  their  own  coffers  may  be  fill- 
ed with  ill-gotten  gains?  Legislate  to  control 
these  agencies,  and  leave  the  ownership  where  it 
now  is,  and  what  power  under  heaven  will  prevent 
them  from  becoming  the  bulwarks  of  every  politi- 
cal contest  ? While  this  remains  a free  govern- 


HON.  HENRY  SMITH, 

State  Master  Workman,  K.  of  L.,WiS. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


109 


ment,  what  law  can  prevent  them  sending  a hired 
lobby  of  cunning  sharpers  to  the  council  chambers 
of  the  nation,  to  corrupt  courts  and  bribe  legisla- 
tures. It  is  the  first  duty  of  government  to  obtain 
possession  by  purchase  of  all  these  agencies. 

Let  us  turn  our  attention  for  a moment,  to  one  of 
the  avenues  of  public  distribution  from  which  the 
government  has  served  private  ownership.  Refer- 
ence is  made  to  the  postal  service.  During  all  the 
time  the  government  has  operated  the  mail  routes, 
we  never  hear  of  postoffices  combining  to  harangue 
the  people  in  political  contests,  except  the  mere 
clamor  for  office.  We  never  hear  of  a postoffice 
lobby  in  Washington.  We  never  hear  of  the  post- 
offices  charging  more  for  a “ short  haul”  than  fora 
“long  haul.”  We  never  hear  of  the  postoffices  wa- 
tering stocks.  We  never  hear  of  them  discriminat- 
ing against  localities.  We  never  hear  of  them  send- 
ing abroad  for  the  paupers  of  the  old  world  to  take 
the  place  of  free  labor.  We  never  hear  of  them 
spending  millions  of  dollars  per  year,  to  subsidize 
the  press  and  deceive  the  people. 

And  now  comes  the  question  : Is  the  transmission 
of  human  intelligence  upon  paper,  any  more  the 
duty  of  government  than  the  transmission  of  life 
and  property  ? 

Is  human  thought  more  sacred  when  inscribed  up- 
on paper, than  when  upon  the  electric  wires  it  flash' 
es  across  the  continent  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye. 


110 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


During  all  the  time  the  government  has  operated 
the  postal  service  you  never  heard  of  the  em- 
ployes of  that  department  going  on  a strike.  On 
the  other  hand  you  never  heard  the  people  com- 
plain of  excessive  rates  or  extortionate  charges  in 
the  transmission  of  the  mails.  But  how  different 
is  the -feeling  and  the  situation,  when  applied  to  the 
railroads,  the  telegraphs  and  the  telephones,  every- 
thing is  confusion  and  dissatisfaction.  While  the 
employes  are  striking  for  increased  wages,  the  peo- 
ple are  threatening  confiscation,  or  a return  to  the 
old  stage  coach  system,  as  a possible  refuge  from 
the  grasp  of  monopoly. 

Nowhere  is  there  a single  instance  where  the  gov 
eminent  has  succeeded  in  controlling  a public  in- 
stitution in  the  interests  of  the  people  while  it  em- 
braced private  ownership. 

This  government  started  out  in  life  on  the  basis 
that  a white  man  could  have  ownership  in  the  flesh 
and  blood  of  a black  man,  and  all  that  was  necessa- 
ry was  to  control  it  by  law,  but  that  evil  corrupted 
legislation,  and  defied  the  will^of  the  people,  until  it 
costs  millions  of  lives  and  billions  of  treasury  to 
subdue  it. 

In  1791  our  government  started  a bank  with  $10,- 
000,000  capital.  Four-fifths  of  it  was  private  prop- 
erty, and  it  nearly  choked  the  life  out  of  the  gov- 
ernment. It  had  to  be  abolished  to  save  our  free 
institutions. 

In  1816  our  law  makers  were  induced  to  try  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Ill 


experiment  again,  and  another  bank  was  establish- 
ed with  $35,000,000  capital,  four-fifths  of  which 
was  private  property,  but  it  darkened  American 
freedom  and  became  so  oppressive  that  in  1832, 
Jackson  had  to  put  his  foot  on  the  neck  of  the  mon- 
ster and  crush  the  life  out  of  it.  Then  that  func- 
tion of  the  government  was  turned  over  to  state 
banks,  and  they  nearly  bankrupted  the  nation. 

The  national  banks  of  to-day  have  become  so 
haughty  and  powerful,  that  they  can  grasp  the  arm 
of  the  president  of  the  United  States,  as  they  did  a 
few  years  ago,  and  compel  him  to  veto  a bill  which 
was  passed  in  the  interest  of  the  people.  But  what 
has  all  this  to  do  with  the  operation  of  the  railroads, 
or  the  telegraph  and  telephones.  It  shows  the  weak- 
ness of  the  law  and  the  power  of  corporations,  and 
the  dangers  which  threaten  the  liberties  of  the  peo- 
ple, when  private  interests  are  combined  with  public 
institutions.  Our  government  has  gone  further  than 
the  mere  attempt  to  control  a railroad.  A few  years 
ago  our  government  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a 
railroad  magnate  and  his  company,  and  the  govern- 
ment gave  them  a strip  of  land  forty  miles  wide, 
extending  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  then  the  government  loaned  them  $16,000  on 
every  mile  of  road  they  built.  Then  the  govern- 
ment released  the  lands  and  bonds  from  taxation. 
Yet,  with  all  this  public  charity,  that  railroad  has 
become  a robber  of  the  people  and  an  oppressor  of 
the  poor.  Not  only  that,  but  they  nearly  annihilat- 


112 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


ed  the  government’s^  claim,  by  slipping  a first  mort- 
gage under  it,  and  for  years  they  have  refused  to  pay 
even  the  interest  on  the  loan  the  government  gave 
them,  and  to-day  more  than  $50,000,000  of  interest 
remains  unpaid. 

Their  last  great  act  of  charity  that  came  under  my 
personal  notice,  was  when  the  leading  officers  crossed 
this  country  in  their  gold  mounted  cars,  and  drank 
their  fine  wines  and  whisky  under  the  dazzling  ban- 
ners which  bore  the  motto  of  “Victory.”  Under 
the  present  administration,  we  have  a railroad  law 
that  the  angels  in  Heaven  cannot  tell  what  it  means, 
and  we  have  five  railroad  lawyers  to  execute  that 
law. 

Give  us  statesmen  who  have  the  honor,  and  the 
will,  to  spurn  the  flattery  of  these  corporations,  and 
can  damn  their  devilish  treachery  without  flinch- 
ing. 

For  many  years  past  it  has  been  the  custom  of 
the  people  to  donate  large  sums  to  aid  in  the  con- 
struction of  railroads.  In  many  localities  the  people 
have  taxed  themselves  poor  for  this  very  purpose. 
Millions  upon  millions  of  dollars  have  gone  into  the 
pockets  of  railroad  companies  from  this  source.  But 
no  sooner  did  the  railroad  companies  receive  these 
donations,  than  they  rated  them  with  their  own  cap- 
ital stock,  and  as  soon  as  the  roads  were  in  running 
order  the  people  were  forced  to  pay  dividends  on 
their  own  donations.  It  is  not  just  that  a man  who 
donates  $100  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  a railroad 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  113 

to-day,  shall  be  assessed  to  pay  a dividend  on  that 
same  $100  to-morrow,  and  when  he  is  dead  and  gone, 
his  children  to  be  assessed  on  their  father’s  charity. 
But  what  is  worse,  the  railroads  no  sooner  get  the  $100 
you  donate  them,  than  they  water  it  100  per  cent,  and 
assess  you  to  pay  a dividend  on  $200,  when  you  only 
donated  $1Q0. 

It  is,  therefore,  clear  to  every  investigating  mind 
that  there"  are  scores  of  evils  growing  out  of  the 
present  mode  of  operating  the  public  agencies  of 
distribution,  which  cannot  be  remedied  except  the 
people  take  them  in  their  own  hands. 

The  best  results  the  people  can  hope  for,  under 
any  attempt  to  control  by  law  the  agencies  of  trans- 
portation without  government  ownership,  is  that 
they  will  be  put  on  the  same  commercial  basis  with 
mining,  manufacturing,  agriculture  and  other  indus- 
tries. Put  the  telegraphs,  telephones  and  railroads 
under  such  restrictions  only,  and  the  same  tenden- 
ciestowards  centralization  from  which  we  suffer  to- 
day will  still  continue.  And  why?  Simply  because 
these  agencies  are  public  institutions — they  are  of 
such  a character  that  sixty  millions  of  people  are 
by  force  of  circumstances  compelled  to  patronize 
them,  and  they  are  owned  and  controlled  by  the  few. 
Thus  we  have  every  element  of  concentration.  Give 
a man  the  exclusive  ownership  of  the  postal  system, 
and  place  it  on  the  same  remunerative  basis 
with  other  industries,  and  in  less  than  fifty  years  he 
will  own  nine-tenths  of  the  wealth  of  the  nation, 


114 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


and  nine-tenths  of  the  people  will  be  his  servants 
and  he  will  be  their  master.  Private  gain  must 
not  be  the  motive  for  operating  a public  institution. 
For  so  surely  as  it  is,  will  Daniel  Webster’s  great 
warning  be  realized,  “Liberty  cannot  long  endure 
in  any  country  where  the  tendency  of  legislation  is 
to  concentrate  wealth  in  the  hands  of  the  few.” 


m 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


115 


CHAPTEK  VII. 


“ O VEKPRODU  CTION. m 

THERE  CAN  BE  NO  OVERPRODUCTION  WHEN  MONEY  19 

PLENTY SCARCITY  OF  MONEY  PRODUCES  STRIKES  AND 

RIOTS WHY  MONEY  IS  WITHDRAWN  FROM  CIRCULA- 

TION— Lincoln’s  warning  in  1861 — overproduct- 
ion DOES  NOT  STARVE  CHILDREN INTEREST  ON  BONDS 

A GREAT  VAMPIRE  TO  THE  NATION BONDS  TAXED  IN 

ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE GEN.  WEAVER  ON  TAXATION 

THE  INTER-STATE  COMMERCE  LAW REPORT  OF  THE 

SILVER  COMMISSIONERS  PLAIN  FACTS  SHOWING 

MADE  BY  UNITED  STATES  TREASURER  IN  1887  OF  THE 
NATION’S  MONEY IDLE  CAPITAL  MAKES  IDLE  MA- 

CHINERY AND  THE  WORKINGMAN  SUFFERS. 

The  cry  that  “overproduction  produces  these 
hard  times,”  is  a farce.  There  would  be  no  over- 
production of  cereals,  clothing  or  any  other  com- 
modity, if  we  had  a sufficient  amount  of  money  in 
circulation.  If  men  are  on  the  verge  of  starvation. 
— half-paid  and  large  families  to  keep,  how  can 


1 By  Hon.  William  Baker 


lie 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


they  get  the  money  to  buy  a sufficient  amount  of 
clothing  % If  clothing,  cereals  and  produce  are 
not  bought  for  the  want  of  money  among  the  labor- 
ing class,  then  overproduction  must  follow. 

With  wages  hardly  enough  to  support  families 
and  nothing  to.  buy  clothing,  manufactures  must 
stop,  or  if  they  run  on  half-time  and  at  reduced 
wages,'  then  dissatisfaction  is  followed  by  strikes 
and  riots.  If  laborers  get  good  wages  they  are  gen- 
erous with  the  distribution  of  their  money.  Instead 
of  mending  up  old  garments  they  get  new.  There 
never  was  “overproduction”  with  plenty  of  money 
in  circulation.  Not  more  than  one-third  of  the  mon- 
ey in  the  country  is  in  circulation.  Over  five  hun- 
dred million  dollars  are  locked  up  in  the  United  States 
treasury,  the  rest  is  in  the  banks,  and  in  the  vaults 
of  insurance  companies,  to  loan  at  usurious  rates. 
When  money  is  scarce,  interest  increases — when 
plenty,  it  decreases.  As  long  as  men  can  loan  their 
money  at  from  6 to  10  per  cent,  they  will  hoard 
their  money  .to  loan. 

If  a law  was  passed^  allowing  only  four  per 
cent  interest,  money  would  leave  its  hiding 
places.  It  would  invest  in  realty,  manufac- 
tures and  other  channels  of  trade,  wages  would 
go  up,  and  the  busy  hum  of  industry  would 
be  heard  throughout  the  republic.  Nothing  pays 
as  well  as  money  at  a high  rate  of  interest. 
The  capitalists  know  this,  and  do  all  they  can  to 
cramp  the  money  market  so  as  to  create  a higher 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


117 


rate  of  interest.  If  farmers  borrow  money  at  over 
five  per  cent  it  will  eat  them  up,  as  farming  as  a 
rule  will  not  pay  over  three  per  cent.  Much  is  said 
about  paying  the  national  debt.  The  debt  cannot 
be  paid  under  the  present  national  banking  sys- 
tem. 

Let  the  government  cease  to  issue  any  more  bonds 
to  tine  banks,  issue  none  but  legal  tender  money. 
Call  in  the  National  Banks’  money  as  soon  as  their 
charters  lapse,  reduce  by  law  the  rate  of  interest  to 
four  per  cent,  keep  the  circulation  up  to  fifty  dol- 
lars per  capita.  Do  this,  and  panics  will  be  un- 
known— strikes  a thing  of  the  past,  and  prosperity 
and  contentment  will  cease  only  with  the  Republic. 

Yenice  had  one  hundred  dollars  per  capita,  and 
for  six  hundred  years  down  to  the  time  that 
Napoleon  crossed  her  Lagoon,  and  destroyed  a 
republic  which  had  kept  the  civilized  world  at  bay 
for  thirteen  hundred  years,  she  never  had  a failure. 
England  with  her  irredeemable  currency  and  a large 
per  capita  circulation,  during  her  Napoleonic  war 
of  eighteen  years,  enjoyed  a prosperity  she  never 
had  before  or  since.  Failures  were  unknown,  the 
hum  of  industries  was  heard  throughout  the  day, 
and  the  midnight  sky  was  brightened  by  the  glow  of 
hot  furnaces.  “Each  day  a link  is  forged  in  the 
change  which  makes  labor  subservient  to  cap- 
ital.” 

Abraham  Lincoln  in  1861  warned  the  people  to 
watch,  lest  capital  be  put  above  labor.  He  said  : 


118 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


“I  bid  the  laboring  people  beware  of  surrendering 
a power  which  they  already  possess,  and  which  sur- 
rendered will  surely  be  used  to  close  the  doors  of 
advancement  to  such  as  they,  and  fix  new  disabilities 
and  burdens  upon  them  until  all  liberty  is  lost.” 
We  must  be  on  our  guard.  We  hear  the  muffled 
sounds  , of  discontent.  We  had  better  heed  the  warn- 
ing voice  of  Lincoln,  and  not  stand  like  abject  slaves 
and  tremble  before  the  marble  face  of  power. 

The  laboring  class  are  battling  for  their  rights. 
“It  is  billions  of  money  against  millions  of  men.” 
The  people  must  settle  their  difficulties  through  the 
ballot,  not  by  the  bayonet,  and  their  strikes  by  arbi- 
tration, not  by  riots.  Unity  of  action  is  indispensa- 
ble to  success.*  Let  not  cunning  Catilines  mislead 
you.  Select  those  whom  you  can  trust  to  defend 
your  cause.  Rare  scholastic  attainments  and  brilli- 
ancy of  mind  are  not  required.  Good  judgment,  and 
a clear  perception  of  right  and  wrong,  is  a better 
equipment  for  a public  officer  than  eloquence  or 
polished  manners.  No  nation  can  prosper  with  our 
limited  circulation,  cornered  as  it  is  by  demagogues, 
to  raise  the  interest,  cramp  the  people,  and  to  sell 
their  homes. 

We  want  no  more  such  scenes  as  red  flags  in  the 
sheriff’s  hands,  as  pitiless  for  humanity  as  the  black 
flags  of  the  pirates.  We  want  no  more  to  see  chil- 
dren driven  from  their  homes,  with  bony  hands  ex- 
tended heavenward,  with  sunken  eyes,  pallid 
cheeks,  but  gnawed  by  the  pangs  of  hunger,  piteous- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


119 


ly  exclaiming,  “ We’ve  got  no  home!  Oh,  God, 
we’ve  got  no  home  !”  We  want,  with  the  keys  of 
Justice,  to  unlock  the  coffers  of  the  nation,  by  pay- 
ing the  bonds  now  almost  due,  that  times  may  ease 
and  happy  homes  and  comfort  once  more  reign. 

We  must  either  have  an  income  tax,  so  as  to  com- 
pel the  untaxed  bondholders  to  help  the  poor  liquid- 
ate the  enormous  taxes,  or  pass  a law  not  to  allow 
over  four  per  cent.  The  capital  which  seeks  hiding 
places  for  the  purpose  of  contracting  the  currency, 
so  as  to  increase  the  rate  of  interest,  would  then 
pass  into  the  channel  of  trade.  If  those  in  power 
will  not  do  that,  then  recall  the  bonds.  W e have 
paid  them  over  and  over  again. 

In  a speech  in  1870,  delivered  by  Hon.  Daniel 
Voorhees,  he  said:  “I  think  it  safe  to  say,  that  up  to 
the  present  time  the  bondholders  have  realized  in 
bonds  and  interest,  not  less  than  $4,000,000,000. 
There  is  nothing  parallel  to  it  in  the  history  of  con- 
stitutional government.  In  what  government,  or  land, 
governed  by  written  law,  will  the  explorer  of  other 
countries  find  such  a wholesale  plunder  of  the  people. 
Where  else,  than  in  this  land  of  professed  equality, 
has  wealth  ever  committed  a crime  against  industry 
and  liberty,  of  such  huge  proportions  as  towers  up 
in  our  midst,  and  darkens  the  homes  of  our  people 
with  its  cruel  and  unjust  demands?  The  funding  of 
the  bonds  though  the  interest  be  lessened,  will  not 
relieve  labor  of  its  oppressive  taxation.  The  mort- 
gage of  the  bondholder  on  all  their  homes  and  farms 


120 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


will  still  continue.  Their  children,  and  their  chil- 
dren’s children  will  be  subject  to  the  same  undimin- 
ished burdens.  Interest,  interest,  with  its  frightful 
accumulation  will  compel  the  tax  payer  to  pay  it 
over  and  over  again,  and  yet  it  will  never  be  can- 
celled. The  principle  of  funding,  established  an  in- 
exhaustible mine  of  gold  for  the  bondholders,  and 
an  eternity  of  hopeless  toil  for  the  people.  On  the 
chancery  side  of  the  court,  there  is  always  relief  to  be 
found  against  an  extortionate  transaction.  This  is 
a well  known  principle  between  individuals.  It  will 
hold  good  also  in  behalf  of  a whole  people.  They 
have  been  imposed  upon,  and  defrauded  in  the  cre- 
ation of  the  debt,  and  they  may  justly  and  without 
breach  of  contract  appeal  to  the  greater  equity  of 
the  case.  Do  we  live  in  the  days  of  the  Medes  and 
Persians,  when  it  was  an  offense  punishable  with 
death  to  repeal  a law  once  enacted?” 

In  this  land  of  boasted  freedom, the  moneyed  pow- 
er imposes  laws  upon  the  working  class  more  unjust, 
than  those  of  France  or  England.  Heath  says:  “In 
both  England  and  France,  the  government  obliga- 
tions are  taxed  pro  rata  with  all  other  investments, 
and  have  to  bear  their  proportions  of  the  public  bur- 
dens, while  in  America  they  are  exempt  from  all 
taxation,  thus  throwing  their  entire  burden  upon 
those  who  reap  no  profit  from  them.”  Is  it  not  a 
disgrace  that  such  a law  is  not  repealed?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  the  people  are  oppressed  ? Statistics 
show  that  our  mortgages  aggregate  $800,000,000, 


J.  R.  SOVEREIGN, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  123 

that  the  average  interest  is  8 per  cent,  which 
per  annum  amounts  to  over  six  hundred  million  dol- 
lars. 

General  Weaver  says  “that  we  are  in  debt  twenty 
billions  of  dollars,  out  of  say,  six  billions  of  dollars 
of  wealth,  that  the  lowest  average  tax  is  6-J-  per  cent, 
and  that  on  twenty  billions  of  dollars, it  is  one  billion 
three  hundred  thousands  of  dollars  of  simple  interest, 
say  nothing  of  compound  interest,  that  the  people 
are  paying  on  national,  state,  corporate,  municipal 
and  private  indebtedness,  that  the  annual  net  in- 
crease of  wealth  of  this  nation  is  scarcely  3 per  cent, 
but  call  it  three,  and  that  on  sixteen  billions  of  dol- 
lars is  one  billion,  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  you  pay  in  usury  alone,  simple  interest,  one 
billion,  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  it  to 
money  loaners,  then  add  interest,  then  extortionate 
charges  of  railroads,  then  add  the  enormous  rentals 
paid  by  the  laboring  poor,  and  you  find  you  haven’t 
a farthing  left  to  add  to  the  wealth  of  this  country 
as  a whole.” 

There  is  another  power  we  need  to  fear  besides  the 
banks  and  bonds,  a power  that  by  the  stroke  of  the 
pen  can  increase  or  decrease  the  price  on  every 
thing  we  eat  or  wear.  It  is  the  railroads  with  their 
power  of  wealth.  To  hush  the  general  cry  on  such 
abuse  which  railroads  have  imposed,  congress  passed 
an  inter-state  commerce  law  that  would  have  raked 
the  brains  of  Coke,  Blackstone,  Kent,  Grotius,  Yat- 
tel  or  even  Mucius  Scsevola,  the  greatest  lawyer 


124 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


then  in  Rome,  whose  pupil  was  the  great  Cicero,  who 
once  did  wield  the  palm  of  eloquence,  to  decipher 
it.  The  law  says:  ‘ 'Shall  not  charge  more  for  a short 
haul  than  a long  haul  under  substantially  similar 
circumstances  and  conditions  over  the  same  line  run- 
ning in  the  same  direction.”  If  a poor  man  is  in- 
jured, what  chance  has  he  in  the  upper  courts,  he  must 
then  perchance  to  five  commissioners  appeal,  who  in 
a Trojan  horse  perchance  will  sit,  with  paid  retainers 
to  favor  my  lords,  the  kings  of  railroad  fame. 

In  1874  the  United  States  senate  committee  on 
transportation  routes  said:  In  the  matter  of  tax- 
ation there  are  four  men  representing  the  four  great 
trunk  lines  between  Chicago  and  New  York,  who  ex- 
ercise power  which  the  congress  of  the  United  States 
would  not  venture  to  exert.  An  additional  charge 
of  5 per  cent  per  bushel  on  the  transportation  of 
cereals,  would  have  been  equivalent  to  a tax  of  forty- 
five  millions  of  dollars  on  the  crop  of  1873;  that  the 
day  is  not  far  distant,  if  it  has  not  already  arrived, 
when  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  statesmen  to  inquire 
whether  there  is  less  danger  in  leaving  the  proper 
and  industrial  interests  of  the  people  thus  wholly 
at  the  mercy  of  a few  men  who  recognize  no  respon- 
sibility but  to  their  stockholders,  and  no  principle 
of  action,  but  personal  and  corporate  aggrandize- 
ment, than  in  adding  somewhat  to  the  power  and 
patronage  of  a government  directly  responsible  to 
the  people  and  entirely  under  their  control.” 

General  Weaver  says,  “That  Iowa  and  in  Illinois 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


125 


farmers  are  yearly  losing  money  that  the  enormous 
rates  of  transportation  has  made  them  poor,  and  that 
the  railroads  make  out  of  every  dollar  of  their  gross 
earnings,  thirty-six  cents  out  of  every  dollar,  which 
represents  actual  profit.”  Where  is  there  a farmer 
wTho  makes  annually  over  four  per  cent?  The  na- 
tional banks  themselves  are  dangerous.  They  hold 
the  purse  that  means  the  sword.  They  tell  the  gov- 
ernment that  if  they  dare  to  make  laws  against  their 
rights,  they  will  make  such  a combination  that  panics 
will  ensue.  No  more  right  have  they  to  thus  hold 
the  purse  and  sword,  than  brigadier  generals  the 
right  to  make  war  or  peace.  Besides  that,  these 
railroad  kings  have  1,800,000  employes  under  their 
command,  six  times  more  than  Napoleon  had, when 
he  disposed  of  crowns  and  kingdoms,  and  made  all 
Europe  tremble.  Forty  times  more  than  Alexander, 
or  Caesar,  or  Pompey  commanded.  This  shows  the 
wealth  which  they  possess. 

People,  and  those  who  ought  to  know  better,  re- 
peatedly exclaim,  uOh!  there  is  as  much  money  in 
the  country  as  ever.  ” If  they  would  take  the  trouble 
to  examine  Secretary  Bristow’s  statement  under  the 
head  of  Destruction  Account,  they  would  be  shocked 
at  the  amount  of  money  destroyed.  General  Logan 
in  1874,  said  in  congress,  that  the  circulating  medium 
had  been  diminished  $1,018,167,784.  To  show  the 
terrible  effect  the  contraction  of  the  currency  has 
had,  take  the  report  of  the  silver  commission  of  the 
second  session  of  the  44th  congress,  which  commis- 


226 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


sion  consisted  of  Messrs.  John  P.  Jones,  Lewis  Y. 
Bogy  and  Geo.  M.  S.  Boutwell,  of  the  senate;  Ban- 
dallL.  Gibson,  Geo.Williard  and  Richard  Bland,  of 
the  house  of  representatives;  Hon.  W.  Groesbeck, 
of  Ohio;  Prof.  Francis  Bowen,  of  Massachusetts; 
and  Geo.  M.  Weston,  of  Maine.  They  said: 

4 11  The  loss  which  this  country  sustains  by  the 
4 ‘shrinking  of  money  is  awful.  The  depression  in  pro- 
ductive industries  will  become  more  deathly,  and 
44the  number  of  idle  laborers  will  indefinitely  in- 
crease. The  loss  which  this  country  sustains  by 
44the  enforced  idleness  of  three  millions  of  persons, 

4 ‘who  although  idle,  must  still,  in  some  scanty  way, 
“be  supplied  with  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  is  in 
“aggregate,  very  great.  If  it  be  estimated  at  one 
“dollar  a day,  for  each  laborer  it  would  amount  irm 
“two  years  to  a sum  sufficient  to  discharge  the- na- 
tional debt.  It  would  pay  the  interest  at  5 per 
“cent  per  annum  on  eighteen  thousand  millions  of 
“dollars.  It  would  be  a sum  more  than  sufficient  to 
“supply  anew  each  year,  the  circulating  medium  of 
“the  country.  It  would  amount  in  four  years  to  a 
“greater  sum  than  the  world’s  entire  gold  produc- 
4 4tion,  in  the  last  fifty  prolific  years.  It  would  ag- 
“gregate  in  ten  years  far  greater  than  the  value  of 
“the  world’s  entire  product  of  both  gold  and  sil- 
“ver,  for  the  last  hundred  years.  It  would  amount 
4 ‘in  four  years,  to  a sum  more  than  sufficient  to  du- 
plicate, and  stock  every  mile  of  railroad  now  in 
’‘the  United  States.  No  more  fatal  blow,  therefore. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


127 


“could  be  directed  against  the  economical  machinery 
“of  civilized  life,  than  one  against  labor,  and  that 
“blow  can  most  effectually  be  delivered  through  a 
“policy  that  strikes  down  prices.  If  all  debts  in 
“this  country  had  been  doubled  by  an  act  of  legisla- 
ture, it  would  have  been  a far  less  calamity  to  the 
“debtor  and  to  the  country  than  the  increase  of  their 
“real  burden  already  caused  by  a contraction  in  the 
“volume  of  money.  Indeed  this  country  could  bet- 
ter afford,  in  an  economical  view  to  support  one  mil- 
lion of  soldiers  in  the  field,  than  to  support  its 
1 ‘present  army  of  three  millions,  that  fallen  prices 
“have  conscripted  into  the  ranks  of  non-producers. 
“Without  money,  civilization  could  not  have  a be- 
“ginning  with  a diminished  supply,  it  must  languish 
“and  unless  relieved  finally  perish.  It  is  a volume 
“of  money  keeping  even  pace  with  advancing  pop- 
ulation and  commerce,  and  in  the  resulting  steadi- 
ness of  prices,  that  the  wholesome  nutriment  of  a 
“healthy  vitality  is  found.  The  highest  moral,  intel- 
lectual, and  material  development  of  nations  is 
“promoted  by  the  use  of  money  unchanging  in  its 
‘ ‘value.” 

One  can  see  from  the  above  report  what  money 
does  and  the  power  it  has.  In  1865  we  paid  the 
government  in  taxes  three  hundred  and  thirty-two 
million  dollars.  Last  year  three  hundred  and  thir- 
ty-six million.  What  means  these  figures?  We 
are  told  the  debt  is  being  quickly  paid  and  four- 


128 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


teen  million  dollars  more  of  taxes  than  in  1865. 
We  have  over  five  hundred  million  dollars  in  our 
national  vaults,  and  manufactures  stopped,  and  mon- 
ey scarce,  and  working  men  crying  for  bread. 
Still  it  flows  in,  three  hundred  and  thirty  thous- 
and dollars  a day,  ten  million  dollars  in  one  month, 
and  in'  one  year,  at  least,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
million  dollars  more  than  used  for  expenditures 
and  appropriations.  Without  stand  the  grinning 
Shylocks,  like  the  one  at  Rialto,  demanding  his 
pound  of  flesh,  amid  this  cry  of  hunger  and  of  woe. 
Look  in  the  vaults  with  a prophetic  eye  and  see 
what  they  contain. 

The  Iowa  Tribune  says,  “On  the  18tli  of  July, 
1881,  the  statement  of  the  United  States  treasury 
showed  gold,  silver,  United  States  notes  and  other 
funds  in  the  treasury,  as  follows : 


Gold  coin  and  bullion $178,719,037 

Silver  dollars  and  bullion 215,716,600 

Trade  dollars  redeemed 7,025,852 

Fractional  silver  coin 26,808,959 

United  States  notes 28,618,442 

National  bank  notes 203,993 

National  bank  notes  in  process  of  re- 
demption   2,363,899 

Deposits  with  national  bank  depos- 
itories ..  . 28,295,798 

Total 


$577,752,580 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


129 


Certificates  Outstanding  : 


Gold $ 96,764,067 

Silver 143,278,781 

Currency 8,750,  000 


Total $248,792,848 

Balance  available  cash $328,959,632 


“That  sum  enables  the  Secretary  to  redeem  at 
once  the  $250,000,000  of  four  and  one-half  bonds 
now  outstanding,  and  $50,000,000  of  the  fours.  The 
four  and  halfs  have  four  years  to  run,  and  the  an- 
nual interest  is  $1 1,250,000,  to  redeem  them  would 
save  the  people  $45,000,000.  The  interest  on  $50,- 
000,000  fours  is  $2,000,000  a year,  and  they  run 
twenty  years,  so  the  saving  on  them  would  be  $40- 
000,000.  These  two  items  foot  up  $85,000,000,  which 
Secretary  Fairchild  can  save  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try, besides  relieving  the  pressure  in  money  mat- 
ters, by  putting  $300,000,000  out  of  the  vaults  of 
the  treasury  into  circulation.  The  law  authorizes 
this  act.” 

Any  one  can  readily  see  what  this  country  would 
save  by  the  redemption  of  the  bonds.  It  would  not 
only  lessen  taxes,  increase  trade,  btit  make  times 
good.  Idle  capital  is  like  idle  machinery.  When  idle, 
neither  produce  anything.  We  not  jyily  lose  the 
interest  of  the  money  in  the  vaults,  but  what  it 
would  produce  if  put  into  circulation,  besides  mak- 


130 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOB. 


ing  homes  once  more  bright  and  happy,  seeing  every 
arm  once  more  employed,  and  all  the  avenues  of 
trade  exulting  with  the  shouts  and  peans  of  victor- 
ions  labor. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


131 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


HARD  TIMES. 

THE  KNIGHTS  OF  LABOR  AT  RICHMOND A COMMITTEE 

ON  HARD  TIMES THEIR  REPORT THE  INTRICACIES 

OF  DISTRIBUTION  OF  WEALTH AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE 

SUBJECT SENATOR  SHERMAN’S  IDEAS  IN  1869 JOHN 

A.  LOGAN’S  THEORY THE  UNITED  STATES  TREASURER 

IN  1820 JOHN  STUART  MILL,  THE  GREAT  ENGLISH 

ECONOMIST SIR  ARCHIBALD  WILSON SECRETARY 

M’CULLOCH  BOUTWELL THE  BURNING  OF  $100,- 

000,000 PETER  COOPER  ON  INDUSTRIAL  DEPRESSION 

THE  FLUCTUATION  OF  FINANCES  THE  CAUSE  OF  HARD 

TIMES A STEADY  STANDARD  A FIRM  FOUNDATION. 

At  the  general  assembly  of  the  Knights  of  Labor 
held  at  Richmond,  Va.,  October,  1886,  a commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  investigate  and  report  upon 
the  question  of  hard  times.  The  committee  was 
composed  of  able  men,  chosen  from  live  states,  viz. : 
John  Davis,  Kansas;  Richard  F.  Trevelick,  Mich.; 
J.  R.  Sovereign,  Iowa;  John  H.  Conner,  La.;  and 
James  Collins,  Pa.;  and  their  report  contains  inter- 
esting matter  upon  the  financial  and  industrial  de- 


132 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


pression  which  the  workingmen  find  is  laid  heavily 
upon  them.  The  report  is  a succinct  commentary 
on  the  general  situation,  and  may  be  justly  termed 
a chapter  of  practical  political  economy.  They  re- 
ported as  follows: 

In  examining  our  subject,  we  discover  that  the 
more  civilized  nations  of  the  earth,  including  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  find  themselves  face  to 
face  with  the  problem  of  their  existence  and  contin- 
ued progress. 

The  problem  of  savagery  is  plain  and  simple.  It 
comprehends  physical  force  and  personal  prowess 
only.  It  means  “to  the  vicious  belong  the  spoils,” 
and  death  or  slavery,  to  the  vanquished.  The  prob- 
lem of  civilization  is  more  complex,  yet  the  state- 
ment of  it  is  short.  The  great  Victor  Hugo,  of 
France,  has  stated  the  problem  of  civilization  in 
these  words:  “The  creation  of  wealth  and  the  dis- 
tribution of  wealth.” 

The  people  of  the  United  States,  England  and 
other  civilized  nations,  create  wealth  magnificently, 
but  they  distribute  it  oadly.  So  perfect  and  so  rapid  is 
the  creation  of  wealth  in  recent  times,  that  the  first 
half  of  the  problem  of  civilization  may  be  considered 
solved.  The  last  half  of  the  problem  is  still  before 
us,  as  much  unsolved  as  in  the  crudest  conditions  of 
savagery.  Among  the  more  civilized  nations,  in- 
cluding the  people  of  the  United  States,  we  find 
whole  classes  of  the  creators  of  wealth  suffering  in  a 
state  of  the  most  abject  poverty  and  want,  while 


THE  VOICE  OE  LABOR.  133 

other  classes  that  are  not  creators  of  wealth  at  all 
have  accumulated  such  enormous  amounts  of  the 
earnings  of  labor,  that  their  presence  in  society  has 
become  absolutely  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the 
people. 

What,  then,  are  the  intricacies  and  difficulties 
connected  with  the  distribution  of  created  wealth  in 
civilized  society?  Let  us  analyze  the  subject.  The 
distribution  of  created  wealth  consists  of  two  parts: 
The  change  of  place  of  commodities,  and  the  change 
of  title  to  commodities.  What  are  the  agents  and 
implements  in  the  performance  of  these  functions 
and  transactions?  For  the  change  of  place  of  com- 
modities we  use  wagons,  boats  and  cars;  for  sim- 
plicity, let  us  say,  we  use  wheels.  For  the  change 
of  title,  we  use  dollars. 

Now  suppose  that  in  the  transportation  of  com- 
modities from  producer  to  consumer,  there  are 
wheels  enough  in  existence  and  in  motion;  the  trans- 
portation goes  on  smoothly  and  normally.  In  the 
midst  of  this  felicitous  and  prosperous  condition  of 
things,  let  some  unseen  power  withdraw  or  suppress 
one-half,  or  one-fourth  of  the  wheels.  The  result  is 
disastrous  in  the  extreme.  Producers  cannot  deliver 
their  commodities,  and  suffer  in  consequence;  com 
sumers  cannot  receive  the  commodities,  that  they 
desire,  nor  the  necessities  that  must  sustain  their 
lives.  Society  is  afflicted  with  congestion  and  paraly- 
sis in  all  its  parts;  and,  if  the  unseen  interference  con- 
tinues, confusion  and  suffering  must  continue. 


134 


THE  VOICE  OE  LABOR. 


What  is  the  remedy?  Plainly  this:  Restore  the 
wheels  and,  for  the  future,  add  wheels  as  the  exi- 
gencies of  transportation  shall  require. 

On  the  matter  of  the  change  of  title  to  the  com- 
modities, suppose  that  a requisite  number  of  dollars 
are  in  existence  and  floating,  and  that  the  buying  and 
selling  of  commodities  is  proceeding  normally  and 
smoothly — that  the  requisite  change  of  title  to  com- 
modities is  practicable,  in  accordance  with  the  neces- 
sities of  society.  Now  suppose  that  some  unseen 
power  shall  withdraw  one-half,  or  one-fourth  of  the 
dollars,  what  is  the  result.  The  same  as  that  seen 
when  part  of  the  wheels  were  withdrawn.  There 
can  be  no  general  change  of  title  to  commodities, 
except  upon  the  most  disadvantageous  terms.  There 
must  be  a general  over-loading  of  the  remaining 
dollars  which  is  recognized  as  a general  reduction, 
or  fall  of  prices.  Falling  prices  means  general  de- 
pression of  trade  and  industry;  and  loss  and  distress 
among  all  classes  engaged  in  changing  title  to  com' 
modities  are  the  inevitable  results.  As  titles  to  articles 
cannot  be  safely  exchanged,  change  of  title  musf 
cease,  or  proceed  under  very  adverse  circumstances, 
and  so  imperfectly  that  society  must  suffer  the  most 
severe  distress. 

So  insidious  and  so  deceptive  are  the  processes 
and  results  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  money  of  so- 
ciety, that  your  committee  beg  leave  to  introduce 
authorities  on  this  important  part  of  the  subject. 
First,  we  refer  to  the  language  of  the  United  States 


HON.  WILLIAM  BAKER. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  137 

monetary  report  of  1877,  respecting  the  depression 
of  industry  then  existing,  as  follows: 

The  true  and  only  cause  of  the  stagnation  in  in- 
dustry and  commerce  now  everywhere  felt,  is  the 
fact  now  everywhere  existing  of  falling  prices 
caused  by  a shrinking  volume  of  money.  This  is  the 
great  cause.  All  others  are  collateral,  cumulative, 
or  really  the  effect  of  that  cause. 

Speaking  of  the  progressive  contraction  of  the 
currency  then  going  on,  Senator  John  Sherman,  in 
1869,  said: 

The  contraction  of  the  currency  is  a far  more  dis- 
tressing thing  than  senators  suppose.  Our  own  and 
other  nations  have,  gone  through  that  process  be- 
fore. It  is  not  possible  to  take  that  voyage  without 
the  sorest  distress;  to  every  person  except  a capital- 
ist out  of  debt,  a salaried  officer,  or  an  annuitant, 
it  is  a period  of  loss,  danger,  lassitude  of  trade,  fall 
of  wages,  suspension  of  enterprise,  bankruptcy  and 
disaster.  To  attempt  this,  is  to  impose  upon  our 
people,  by  arresting  them  in  the  midst  of  their  law- 
ful business,  and  applying  a new  standard  of  value  to 
their  property,  without  any  reduction  of  their  debts 
or  giving  them  any  opportunity  to  compound  with 
their  creditors,  or  to  distribute  their  losses,  and 
would  be  an  act  of  folly  without  an  example  of  evil 
in  modern  times. 

Speaking  of  the  long  continued  and  disastrous 
depression  existing  in  1874,  Senator  John  A. 
Logan  said  : “It  is  a money  famine  and  nothing 

else.” 

In  his  great  speech  of  March  17,  1874,  Senator 

10 


138 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Logan  quoted  approvingly  from  Hon.  Isaac  Bu- 
chanan, of  Ontario,  Canada,  as  follows: 

It  is  seen  that  the  question  of  money,  and  the  ques- 
tion of  labor,  are  one  and  the  same  question,  the  so- 
lution of  one  being  the  solution  of  the  other;  plenti- 
ful, and  therefore  cheap  money,  being  a convertible 
term  for  plentiful  and  well  paid  employment. 

Wm.  H.  Crawford,  secretary  of  the  United  States 
treasury,  in  1820,  said:  “All  intelligent  writers  on 
currency  agree  that  when  it  is  decreasing  in  amount, 
poverty  and  misery  must  prevail.” 

John  Stuart  Mill,  a great  English  economist, 
states: 

If  the  whole  money  in  circulation  was  doubled, 
prices  would  double.  If  it  was  increased  one-fourth, 
prices  would  increase  one-fourth. 

Kicardo,  of  England,  says: 

That  commodities  would  rise  and  fall  in  price  iis. 
proportion  to  the  diminution  of  money,  I assume  as 
a fact  that  is  incontrovertible;  that  such  would  be  the 
case,  the  most  celebrated  writers  are  agreed. 

Your  committee  have  been  absolutely  over- 
whelmed and  embarrassed  by  the  volume  of  testi- 
mony accessible,  showing  that,  as  tersely  stated  by 
President  Grant,  “Prices  keep  pace  with  the  volume 
of  money;”  and,  with  this  mass  of  available  material, 
we  have  selected  only  the  best  known  American  and 
English  authors. 

We  call  special  attention  to  the  following  addition- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


139 


ai  testimony  from  the  report  of  the  United  States 
monetary  commission,  1877: 

Primarily,  then,  prices  must  have  been  entirely 
controlled  by  the  volume  of  money  unaffected  by 
credit.  There  can  never  occur  a universal  fall  in 
prices,  and  a general  withdrawal  of  credits,  without 
a preceding  decrease  in  the  volume  of  money.  As 
the  volume  of  money  shrinks  prices  fall.  When 
money  is  decreasing  in  volume  prices  have  no  bot- 
tom except  a receding  one,  and  they  are  inexorably 
ruled  by  the  volume  of  money.  In  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  wTorld,  every  great  and  general  fall  in 
prices,  have  been  preceded  by  a decrease  in  the  vol- 
ume of  money.  At  the  Christian  era  the  metalic 
money  of  the  Roman  empire  amounted  to  $1,800,- 
000,000.  At  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  had 
shrunk  to  $200,000,000.  During  this  period  a most 
extraordinary  and  baleful  change  took  place  in  the 
condition  of  the  world.  Population  dwindled,  and 
commerce,  arts,  wealth  and  freedom  all  disap- 
peared. The  people  were  reduced  by  poverty 
to  the  most  degraded  condition  of  serfdom 
and  misery.  The  disintegration  of  society  was  al- 
most complete.  The  conditions  of  life  was  so  hard 
that  individual  selfishness  was  the  only  instinct  con- 
sistent with  self-preservation.  All  public  spirit,  all 
generous  emotions,  all  noble  aspirations  of  men 
shriveled  and  disappeared  as  the  volume  of  money 
shrunk  and  prices  fell.  That  the  Dark  Ages  were 
caused  by  decreasing  money  and  falling  prices,  and 
that  the  recovery  therefrom,  and  the  comparative 
prosperity  which  followed  the  discovery  of  America 
were  due  to  the  increasing  supply  of  the  precious 
metals,  and  rising  prices  will  not  seem  surprising,  or 
unreasonable,  when  the  noble  functions  of  money 


140 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOE. 


are  considered.  Money  is  the  great  instrument  of 
association,  the  very  fibre  of  social  organization,  the 
vitalizing  force  of  industry,  and  as  essential  to  its 
existence  as  oxygen  is  to  animal  life.  Without 
money  civilization  could  not  have  had  a beginning 
— with  a diminishing  supply  it  must  languish,  and, 
unless  relieved,  finally  perish. 

Sir  Archibald  Allison,  the  great  English  historian, 
corroborates  the  foregoing  testimony  to  the  fullest 
extent,  and  says: 

The  two  great  events  in  the  history  of  mankind 
have  been  brought  about  by  a successive  contraction 
and  expansion  of  the  circulating  medium  of  society. 
The  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  so  long  ascribed  in 
ignorance  to  slavery,  to  heathenism  and  to  moral 
corruption,  was,  in.  reality,  brought  about  by  a de- 
cline in  the  silver  <*nd  gold  mines  of  Spain  and 
Greece.  And  as  if  Providence  intended  to  reveal 
in  the  clearest  manner  possible  the  influence  of  this 
mighty  agent  in  human  affairs,  the  restoration  of 
mankind  from  the  ruin  this  cause  had  produced  was 
owing  to  the  directly  opposite  set  of  agencies  being 
put  in  operation.  Columbus  led  the  way  in  the 
career  of  renovation;  when  he  spread  his  sails  to 
cross  the  Atlantic  he  bore  mankind  and  its  fortunes 
in  his  bark.  The  annual  supply  of  the  precious 
metals — of  money — for  the  use  of  the  globe  was 
trebled;  before  a century  had  passed  the  price  of 
every  species  of  produce  was  quadrupled.  The 
weight  of  debt  and  taxation  insensibly  wore  off 
under  the  influence  of  that  prodigious  increase;  in 
the  renovation  of  industry  society  was  changed,  the 
weight  of  feudalism  cast  off*  and  the  rights  of  man 
established. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


141 


No  earthly  force  can  withstand  the  enginery  of 
the  financial  autocrats.  Thomas  EL.  Benton  said: 
“All  property  is  at  their  mercy.” 

In  view  of  the  transcendent  importance  of  the 
quantity  of  money  afloat,  we  now  proceed  to  inquire 
as  to  the  usual  manner  and  processes  of  reduc- 
ing its  volume.  Prior  to  1861,  the  usual  and  very 
successful  plan  for  suppressing  the  currency  of  the 
country  was  by  a run  on  the  banks.  This  plan  not 
only  destroyed  the  money  in  the  pockets  of  the  peo- 
ple, but,  by  the  sudden  and  complete  contraction 
of  the  currency,  it  almost  entirely  destroyed  the 
prices  of  all  property. 

After  1865  the  old  plan  of  contraction  was  not 
practicable;  but,  in  1866  a law  of  congress  was  pass- 
ed for  the  material  reduction  of  the  volume  of  cur- 
rency, and  Secretary  McCulloch  advised  that:  “The 
process  of  contracting  the  government  notes  should  go 
on  as  rapidly  as  possible  without  producing  a panic.” 
The  same  secretary  reported,  in  December,  1866, 
that  he  had  during  the  year,  “counted  and  retired 
$211,000,000.” 

In  1872,  Secretary  Boutwell  reported  that  he 
had  cancelled,  “ by  burning,”  $100,000,000.  The 
continued  contraction  of  the  currency  produced 
the  disastrous  depression  of  1873,  which  con- 
tinued until  the  remedial  measures  of  1878  were 
passed.  One  of  these  remedial  measures  forbade 
the  further  retirement  of  United  States  notes;  the 
other  provided  for  the  coinage  of  silver,  and  the  is- 


142 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


suing  of  silver  certificates.  They  added  to  the  mon- 
ey facilities  of  the  country  and  gradually,  and  par- 
tially, relieved  the  financial  and  industrial  depres- 
sion. 

Since  1878  suppression  of  currency,  by  burning, 
has  not  been  lawful  or  practicable,  hence  a third 
plan  has'  been  adopted;  the  policy  of  hoarding,  or 
locking  up,  the  money  of  the  country  in  the  treasury, 
and,  by  various  excuses  and  devices,  the  amount  of 
available  assets  in  the  public  treasury  is  unprece- 
dented. From  1865  to  1882,  a period  of  eighteen 
years,  the  average  available  assets  in  the  treasury 
was  $160,000,000.  In  1882  the  treasury  hoard  be- 
gan to  permanently  increase,  and  has  since  contin- 
ued to  do  so.  The  amount  now  reported  monthly 
by  the  United  States  treasurer  has,  for  several 
months,  ranged  above  $550,000,000. 

This  material  contraction  of  the  currency  by  lock- 
ing up,  has  afflicted  the  country  with  falling  prices, 
compelling  all  business  men  and  investors  to  hoard 
in  self-defense.  Thus  we  see  piled  up  in  the  great 
money  centers  unusual  amounts  of  money,  belong- 
ing to  individuals,  waiting  a change  from  the 
continually  receding  prices  of  the  products  of  labor 
and  the  commodities  of  commerce.  And,  as  in  all 
cases  of  suppression  of  the  money,  and  consequent 
falling  prices,  we  hear  on  all  hands  the  moans  and 
cries  of  distress,  and  the  earthquake  rumblings  of 
threatening  revolution  and  anarchy.  Such  scenes 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  143 

and  dangers  were  witnessed  under  similar  circum- 
stances during  the  years  1873  to  1877. 

The  great  Peter  Cooper  stated,  that  during  his 
long  business  life,  he  had  witnessed  ten  disastrous 
industrial  depressions,  always  from  the  same  cause; 
always  and  uniformly  from  a destruction,  or  suppres- 
sion, of  the  money  of  the  country.  And  British  his- 
tory informs  us  that  a law  for  the  suppression  of 
the  currency  of  that  country  was  passed  in  1820. 
At  that  time  the  country  was  prosperous  and  the 
British  people  were  employed  and  contented.  Un- 
der the  influence  of  the  Peel  contraction  bill,  four- 
fifths  of  all  land-holders  of  England,  through  bank- 
ruptcy and  forced  sales,  lost  their  lands.  The  people 
were  without  employment,  and  were  suffering  every- 
where for  the  commonest  necessaries  of  life.  The 
suffering  country  was  relieved  by  five  money  bills  in- 
troduced in  a single  night  by  Lord  Castlereagh,  and 
passed  under  a suspension  of  the  rules  as  matters 
of  urgent  necessity.  Every  bill  was  designed  to 
increase  money  facilities.  The  relief  was  sudden 
and  effective. 

Your  "committee  now  submit,  that  the  primal  and 
general  cause  of  financial  and  industrial  depression, 
is  a suppression  of  the  means  of  changing  titles  to 
the  products  of  labor,  and  that  this  blocking  of  the 
means  of  distribution  should  be  remedied  by  a res- 
toration of  the  currency  of  the  country.  We  agree 
in  this  report,  that  the  general  government  should 
resume  its  exclusive  sovereign  right  to  coin  and  issue 


144 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


the  money  of  the  country,  and  that  all  money  so 
issued,  whether  metal  or  paper,  should  be  receiva- 
ble by  the  government  for  all  dues,  and  a legal  ten- 
der for  all  debts  and  taxes.  That  the  money  so  is- 
sued shall  be  gradually  increased  to  the  volume  per 
capita  that  existed  in  1865,  before  the  law  for  its 
suppression  was  passed;  that  it  be  floated  from  the 
treasury  in  payment  of  the  interest-bearing  debt,  and 
other  liabilities  of  the  government,  giving  bond 
holders  their  option  of  coin,  or  paper,  in  such  pay- 
ments. 

And  we  further  report,  that  such  volume  per  cap- 
ita should  be  substantially  maintained  forever  here- 
after, by  the  issue  of  new  coin,  or  treasury  notes,  in 
accordance  with  the  increase  of  population;  said 
money  to  be  circulated  through  the  usual  disburse- 
ments of  the  government.  To  shield  from  the  evils 
of  falling  prices  through  the  hoarding  of  money,  or 
other  causes,  your  committee  suggest  the  creation 
of  a Bureau  of  Prices.  Baid  Bureau  should  have  a 
central  head  at  the  seat  of  the  general  government, 
with  branch  offices  in  the  principal  commercial  cit- 
ies of  the  country. 

It  should  be  the  business  of  the  branch  offices,  to 
observe  and  note  the  daily  prices  in  their  respective 
cities,  of  all  the  important  products  of  labor  that  are 
the  commodities  of  commerce.  Each  branch  office 
should  make  a full  monthly  report  to  the  head  office 
in  Washington,  where  the  average  price  of  each  com- 
modity, and  of  the  aggregate  commodities,  must  be 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


145 


arranged  and  published  monthly.  Then  if  these 
monthly  reports  show  an  average  monthly  fall  in 
the  sea  level  of  general  prices,  the  per  capita  addi- 
tions to  the  currency  must  be  increased.  But,  if  three 
consecutive  monthly  reports  show  a rise  in  the  gen- 
eral sea  level  of  prices,  then  the  per  capita  additions 
to  the  currency  should  be  smaller. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  your  committee  that  the  vol- 
ume of  the  money  should  be  maintained  as  nearly 
as  possible  unfluctuating,  and  that  the  general  aver- 
age, or  sea  level  or  prices,  should  be  maintained  as 
nearly  as  possible  the  same. 

In  discussing  the  general  and  bottom  cause  of 
financial  and  industrial  depression,  your  committee 
does  not  forget  that  there  are  many  collateral  and 
cumulative  causes.  We  recognize  the  grievances 
that  continually  arise  between  the  money  earners 
and  their  employers,  but  we  know  that  the  interests 
of  both  parties  are  best  served  by  steady  prices,  and  an 
unfluctuating  money  market.  We  know  that  strikes 
and  lockouts  occur  oftenest,  and  are  most  difficult 
of  management,  when  the  volume  of  currency  is 
shrinking  and  prices  are  falling.  We  know  that 
individuals  and  syndicates  may  lock  up  money,  and 
bring  down  prices,  as  well  as  the  United  States 
treasurer;  but  our  Bureau  of  Prices  will  correct  that. 
We  know  that  there  is  still  left  for  discussion  the 
land,  labor  and  transportation  questions,  in  a hun- 
dred varying  forms;  yet  we  believe  that  the  asperi- 
ties and  afflictions  on  the  body  of  civilized  society, 


146 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


may  be  smoothed  down  and  healed  with  greater  ease, 
and  certainty  if  the  circulating  medium  of  society 
is  normal.  We  believe  that  our  Bureau  of  Prices, 
in  its  monthly  reports,  will  reveal  the  fact  and  local- 
ity of  corners  in  the  products  of  industry,  and  may 
lead  to  the  discovery,  exposure  and  punishment  of 
the  criminals.  We  know  that  the  gold  corner  of 
Black  Friday,  1873,  became  a possible  and  accom- 
plished fact,  after  a period  of  seven  years  of  sup- 
pression of  money  and  falling  prices. 

We  do  not  believe  that  an  unfluctuating  system 
of  finance  will  cure  all  the  evils  of  land  monopoly, 
but  it  is  a historic  fact  that  every  money  panic  has 
caused  thousands  of  the  homes  of  the  people 
to  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  money  lords  at 
merely  nominal  prices,  through  sheriff’s  sales  and 
foreclosures  of  mortgages.  We  do  not  believe  that 
the  adjustment  of  the  money  question  will  heal  all 
the  differences  between  capital  and  labor,  but  it  may 
be  safely  stated,  that  ninety  per  cent  of  the  strikes 
and  troubles  in  this  line  have  occurred  during  a 
period  of  falling  prices.  At  such  times  the  capitalist 
has  the  advantage  in  these  fights,  while,  on  a steady, 
or  rising  market,  the  employes  usually  gain  easy 
victories. 

We  do  not,  either  as  a committee  or  as  individ- 
uals, claim  that  all  the  ills  of  society  can  be  cured 
through  the  manipulations  of  finance.  We  do  be- 
lieve that  all  reforms,  and  all  adjustment  of  troubles, 
may  be  easily  accomplished  if  we  have  at  all  times 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


147 


steady,  unfluctuating  financial  ground  to  st&nd  upon. 
In  our  opinion,  he  would  be  a very  foolish  man  who, 
designing  to  build  an  enduring  edifice  of  masonry, 
should  select  a volcanic  region  where  the  earthquakes 
beneath  his  feet  would  continually  change  the  level 
of  his  foundations. 

We  think  he  would  be  a very  unwise  man  who, 
when  navigating  the  broad  ocean,  should  choose  as 
his  guiding  star  a fluctuating  and  moving  planet,  in- 
stead of  the  polar  star  of  fixed  certainty.  So,  in  the 
construction  of  an  enduring  civilized  society,  that  is 
expected  to  live  through  the  ages,  dispensing  justice 
and  protecting  the  liberties  of  all  its  citizens,  the 
system  should  be  erected  on  a steady  and  unfluctu- 
ating foundation,  and  its  founders  should  be  guided 
by  the  fixed  and  unchanging  principles  of  justice. 
Such  a system  cannot  be  established  on  the  shifting 
and  treacherous  sands  of  a fluctuating  medium  of 
exchange,  but  must  stand  on  solid  ground,  where  all 
citizens  may  meet  on  equal  terms  for  the  adjustment 
of  their  grievances,  and  the  enjoyment  of  citizen- 
ship. 


148 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


HARD  TIMES — Continued. 

THE  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  SOCIETY — MONEY  EARNERS 

AND  MONEY  USERS  THE  PREDATORY  STRATUM 

LAWS  FOR  THE  CONTRACTION  OF  MONEY  VOLUME— 

7 YEARS  OF  SHRINKAGE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES THE 

PRACTICAL  QUESTIONS  OF  TO-DAY,  LAND,  LABOR,  FI-. 

NANCE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  THE  DECISION  OF 

JUDGE  GRESHAM  IN  THE  WABASH  RAILROAD  CASE 

THE  KNIGHTS  OF  LABOR  AN  ORDER  OF  PEACE  AND 
EDUCATION. 

In  connection  with  the  report  of  the  committee 
on  Financial  and  Industrial  depression  contained  in 
the  previous  chapter,  Mr.  John  Davis,  the  chairman, 
made  the  following  illustrative  remarks,  which  may 
be  properly  considered  with  the  report. 

He  said,  for  the  convenience  of  discussion,  civi- 
lized society  in  the  United  States  may  be  divided 
into  four  classes:  Two  useful  classes,  devoted  hon- 
estly and  earnestly  to  the  creation  and  distribution 
of  wealth;  and  two  predatory  or  vicious  classes,  ad- 
ding to  the  burdens  and  misfortunes  of  society, 


A miner's  cottage 


- 4 . 

> 


mm 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  151 

hindering  the  creation  of  wealth,  blocking  its  distri- 
bution, and,  in  a thousand  ways,  making  themselves 
a clog  and  a menace  to  civilized  communities. 

The  useful  classes  embrace  the  men  who  labor 
and  earn  money  on  the  farms,  in  the  mines  and  in 
the  factories.  Also  the  men  of  business  who  have 
money  or  borrow  it,  and  employ  men  in  all  the  de- 
partments of  industry  and  commerce.  The  two  use- 
ful classes  of  society  embrace  all  the  men  and  wom- 
en engaged  in  the  creation  and  distribution  of 
wealth,  in  all  the  existing  forms  of  labor  and  legiti- 
mate business.  They  may  be  defined  as  ‘ ‘ The  mon- 
ey earners”  and  “The  money  users.” 

One  of  the  predatory  classes  of  society  under- 
mines, steals  and  debauches  from  the  bottom,  and 
the  other  attacks  from  the  top,  endangering  the  very 
existence  of  free  institutions. 

The  substratum  class  embraces  the  indolent  and 
vicious  who  decline  to  labor  for  a livelihood,  living 
and  dying  as  parasites  and  burdens  on  society.  They 
are  usually  without  visible  means  of  support,  and 
spend  much  of  their  time  in  the  hands  of  the  police 
and  peace  officers  of  society.  They  are  the  thorough- 
ly discouraged  wrecks  of  humanity,  destitute  of  cour- 
age or  hope;  the  debauched  offal  of  societary  mis- 
fortunes. During  periods  of  industrial  prosperity 
this  substratum  of  vicious  indolence  is  not  large  in 
America.  Its  numerical  volume  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum,  and  ultimately,  with  continued  industri- 
al prosperity,  it  would  cease  to  be  of  observable 


152 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


importance.  But  during  periods  of  industrial  de- 
pression, this  substratum  class  grows  rapidly  in  vol- 
ume, becoming  very  burdensome,  and  sometimes 
absolutely  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  large  commun- 
ities. 

The  upper  society  embraces  men  who  live  not 
by  earning  money,  nor  by  legitimately  using  mon- 
ey, but  by  the  usury  of  money,  and  by  gambling  and 
speculating  on  the  necessities  and  misfortunes  of 
society.  Since  they  thus  live  and  fatten,  it  is  to 
their  selfish  interests  that  society  shall  have  as  many 
and  as  great  necessities  and  misfortunes  as  possible. 
Hence  they  are  devoted,  body  and  soul,  to  the  bus- 
iness, not  of  creating  and  distributing  wealth,  but 
to  creating  societary  necessities  and  misfortunes. 
They  desire  high  and  usurious  rates  on  their  loans 
to  men,  to  states  and  to  the  nation.  Money  being  dear 
in  proportion  to  the  limited  supply,  they  favor  and 
procure  scarce  and  dear  money  through  legislative 
action  for  its  contraction  and  suppression. 

The  laws  for  the  contraction  of  money  are  always 
passed  in  the  interests  of  these  usurers  and  specula- 
tors. Scarce  money  makes  borrowing  compulsory 
and  usury  high.  It  reduces  the  price  of  all  prop- 
erty and  makes  the  payment  of  money  obligations 
difficult  or  impossible.  Then  when  foreclosures  and 
sheriff’s  sales  occur,  the  usurers  become  the  owners 
of  landed  estates  and  the  creations  of  labor  at  nom- 
inal rates.  Scarce  money  and  falling  prices  offer 
unusual  opportunities  to  stock  gambling  and  the  mo- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


153 


nopoly  of  the  necessities  of  life,  and  of  everything 
that  money  can  purchase. 

During  five  years  of  shrinking  money  in  England, 
four-fifths  of  freeholders  of  England  lost  their  homes, 
and  those  independent  English  farmers  became  the 
tenants  of  the  money  vultures  of  the  country.  Dur- 
ing a period  of  seven  years  of  shrinking  money  in 
this  country,  from  1866  to  1873,  the  people  of  the 
United  States  passed  from  a state  of  abounding 
prosperity  to  a condition  of  deplorable  bankruptcy. 
In  1866  they  were  virtually  out  of  debt;  in  1873 
the  red  flag  of  the  auctioneer  floated  on  every  street 
in  all  the  cities;  farmers  gave  up  their  homes  to  the 
holders  of  the  mortgages,  and  invaded  the  western 
wilderness  to  begin  life  anew.  Men  of  enterprise 
who  had  been  using  money  in  the  creation 
and  distribution  of  wealth  became  bankrupt,  and 
their  former  employes  became  idle,  discouraged  and 
vicious,  swelling  the  substratum  class  to  dangerous 
proportions,  tramping  everywhere  for  a living,  as 
dangerous  marauders  on  society. 

These  deplorable  conditions  of  society  are  period- 
ically produced  at  the  bidding  of  the  usury  classes 
who  are  interested  in  scarce  and  dear  money,  and 
who  prey  on  the  necessities  and  misfortunes  of  civi- 
lized society. 

What  are  the  remedies?  There  are  two.  One  is 
legitimate,  safe  and  effective.  The  other,  illegiti- 
mate, unsafe  and  ineffective.  The  legitimate  and 

safe  plan  is  public  enlightenment  on  financial  and 

u 


154 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


industrial  subjects  as  taught  by  the  Knights  of  La- 
bor, and  to  be  consummated  through  the  ballot  box 
and  wise  legislation.  The  illegitimate  and  unsafe 
course  is  that  taught  and  practised  by  the  advocates 
of  violence  for  legislative  evils,  and  consummated 
in  the  flames  of  burning  cities  and  the  general  de- 
struction of  property  and  human  life.  In  fact  they 
are  anarchists,  through  their  persistent  violations  of 
the  very  principles  of  all  just  government.  Thoy 
not  only  engage  in  anarchy,  in  their  high  sphere, 
corrupting  the  sources  of  law  and  justice;  but  are 
logically  and  certainly  the  parents  and  producers 
of  the  less  harmful  anarchy  found  in  the  vicious 
substratum  of  society. 

Paid  exorbitant  rates  for  building  railroads  and 
telegraphs,  in  bonds,  lands  and  money,  they  still 
hold  them  as  their  own  property,  and  tax  the  pub- 
lic to  whom  the  lines  rightfully  belong,  “all  the 
traffic  will  bear.”  The  remedies  for  these  evils  are 
not  the  tearing  up  of  railroads,  the  burning  of  cities, 
or  the  destroying  of  property.  But  public  enlight- 
enment on  the  practical  questions  of  the  day— on  the 
subjects  of  land,  labor,  finance  and  transportation. 
Public  enlightenment'wili  beget  public  action.  It 
will  proem  e the  repeal  of  class  laws  and  the 
prompt  arrest,  trial  and  punishment  of  great  crim- 
inals as  well  as  small  ones.  The  use  of  dynamite 
in  Chicago  was  the  violence  of  thoughtless  anarchy. 

The  enlightened  vote  for  Henry  George  in  New 
York,  and  the  just  and  patriotic  verdict  of  Judge 


THE  VOICE  OE  LABOR. 


155 


Gresham  in  the  Wabash  railroad  case,  have  changed 
the  tone  and  course  of  a thousand  newspapers,  and 
have  almost  revolutionized  the  sentiment  of  the  en- 
tire country.  The  decision  of 'Judge  Gresham  act- 
ually wrung  from  Jay  Gould,  our  great  American 
anarchist,  a real  shriek  of  pain!  These  results  of 
enlightened  and  patriotic  action  demonstrate  and 
illustrate  the  practical  superiority  of  the  ballot  as 
compared  with  physical  violence.  The  dew  and  the 
sunshine  are  creators  of  wealth,  while  the  blind 
cyclones  only  destroy.  Enlightened  labor  will  al- 
ways accomplish  happy  results  by  the  use  of  peace- 
ful, lawful  and  civilized  methods;  while  the  blind, 
violent  methods  of  savagery  can  only  end  in  chaos 
from  which  spring  individual  and  class  usurpations 
of  power  and  public  oppression. 

It  was  the  object  of  the  committee  at  Richmond 
to  point  out  the  central  and  main  cause  of  industrial 
depression  and  public  distress.  It  is  our  object  now 
to  point  out  and  classify  the  principal  agencies  at 
work  in  civilized  communities,  for  both  good  and 
evil,  and  to  further  illustrate  the  subject. 

From  what  is  here  stated  it  will  be  seen  that  there 
should  be  no  fight  between  employing  capital  and 
labor — between  the  money  earners  and  the  money 
users;  yet  such  fights  are  common  from  the  fact  that 
suffering  and  uninformed  men  usually  strike  those 
nearest  them;  or  because  employing  capital  finds 
itself  amid  falling  prices  with  no  profits  on  the  pro- 
ducts of  labor;  or  because  employing  capital,  not 


156 


TfiE  VOICE  OE  LABOR. 


satisfied  with  legitimate  profits,  enters  the  field  of 
speculation  and  gambling  on  the  products  of  labor. 
These  questions  must  be  solved,  understood  and 
peacefully  settled.  Herein  is  the  mission  of  the 
order  of  the  Knights  of  Labor.  It  is  an  order  of 
peace  and  education. 

In  all  mention  of  capital  we  should  bear  in  mind 
the  important  distinction  between  employing  capital 
and  speculative  or  gambling  capital — between  the 
class  of  so-called  “capitalists,”  and  the  capital- 
using, wealth-creating  business  men.  And  in  our 
mention  of  labor  and  laboring  men  we  must  remem- 
ber the  important  distinction  between  sober  and  in- 
dustrious wage-earners,  and  the  idle,  vicious  class  of 
parasites  who  avoid  labor  as  much  as  possible. 
These  distinctions  between  the  useful  and  the  pred- 
atory classes  will  materially  aid  us  in  understanding 
each  other. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


157 


CHAPTER  X. 


WAGES. 

WAGES  A SUBJECT  OF  VAST  IMPORTANCE — GREAT  NA- 
TIONS ARE  NOW  DEALING  WITH  IT THE  ECONOMICS 

OF  WAGES  INDUSTRIAL  CONDITIONS  INCESSANTLY 

CHANGE A TABLE  OF  STATISTICS THE  PROGRESS  OF 

WAGES ECONOMY  DOES  NOT  DEMAND  LOW  WAGES 

WHAT  HIGH  WAGES  WILL  DO HON.  WILLIAM  WALSH 

ON  WAGES  INCREASE  OF  CAPITAL  DEMANDS  IN- 
CREASE OF  LABOR TO  PROTECT  LABOR  A SACRED  DU- 
TY  DR.  PARKER  ON  REGULATION  OF  WAGES CO-OP- 

ERATION THE  ULTIMATUM  OF  PRODUCTIVE  INDUSTRY. 

The  question  of  wages,  as  one  of  the  phases  of 
the  labor  movement,  is  of  vast  importance  to  the 
workingman.  All  who  have  investigated  the  sub- 
ject are  irresistibly  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  in- 
dications point  to  a contest  in  every  civilized  na- 
tion. 

We  read  daily  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
English  parliament  upon  her  land  system  and  the 
struggles  of  her  Irish  tenantry;  sensational  accounts 
of  Russian  nihilism  startle  the  world;  Austria  and 


158 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Germany  are  kept  in  a continual  state  of  fear  lest 
the  death  of  Bismarck  will  leave  them  helpless;  and 
everywhere  there  are  unmistakable  signs  that  an  un- 
dercurrent is  agitating  the  masses.  This  agitation 
assumes  various  phases  in  different  localities.  At 
one  place  it  is  a difficulty  between  mill-owners  and 
their  operatives;  in  another  it  lies  between  the  rich 
and  the  poverty  stricken;  again,  it  is  between  land 
holders  and  peasants,  and  between  privileged  classes 
and  the  proletariat. 

Wages,  or  the  compensation  for  work  performed, 
is  that  proportion  of  the  value  of  any  product  to 
which  each  contributor  to  that  product  is  entitled. 
This  proportion  may  be  either  nominal  or  real. 
Nominal  wages  is  the  amount  of  money  paid  for  a 
certain  amount  of  work  done,  and  real  wages  refers 
to  the  quantity  of  the  commodities  which  the  money 
received  for  the  work  will  purchase.  The  two  great 
forces  which  are  engaged  in  the  production  of  the 
substances  which  comprise  food,  fuel,  shelter,  or 
the  materials  which  may  be  converted  into  capital, 
are  labor  and  capital.  Land  is  worthless  unless 
labor  and  capital  render  it  valuable.  It  is  by  the 
co-operation  of  these  two  forces  that  an  annual  pro- 
duct is  brought  into  existence,  wherefrom  wages 
may  be  obtained. 

A careful  review  of  the  economic  development  of 
the  United  States  during  the  last  fifty  years,  leads 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  workingman  has  secured 
results  for  a given  amount  of  labor  which  have 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


159 


gradually  increased.  The  industrial  conditions 
have  been  in  a perpetual  movement,  and  this  move- 
ment has  been  controlled  by  artificial  encourage- 
ment and  restrictions.  It  is,  therefore,  difficult  to 
trace  the  economic  progress  with  exactness,  and  al- 
most impossible  to  accurately  determine  the  situa- 
tion at  any  given  time. 

In  the  tenth  annual  report  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor,  18  T9,  will  be  found 
a comparison  between  the  wages  of  1860  and  those 
of  1878.  The  returns  from  63,515  workingmen 
tended  to  show  that  the  weekly  wages  were  twenty- 
four  and  four-tenths  per  cent  higher  in  1878  than 
they  were  in  1860.  A comparison  made  by  Mr. 
Carlisle  shows  that  between  1850  and  1860  wages 
advanced  seventeen  per  cent,  in  gold,  and  only  four 
per  cent  in  purchasing  power,  but  in  the  next  ten 
years  wages  declined  ten  per  cent  in  purchasing 
power.  In  the  next  decade  they  fell  ten  per  cent, 
but  increased  eighteen  per  cent  in  purchasing  power. 
By  taking  the  average  annual  wages  in  cotton, 
woolen  and  iron  industries  in  each  census  year,  and 
the  cost  of  living,  the  following  comparison  table 
was  obtained: 


Year. 

Currency. 

Gold. 

Purchasing  power. 

1850 

$244.83 

$244.83 

$244.83 

1860 

287.00 

287.00 

255.32 

1870 

358.12 

306.55 

230.83 

1880 

277.00 

277.00 

272.91 

Similar  estimates  from  labor  statistics  of  other 


160 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


states  show  a like  increase  in  the  rate  of  wages, 
despite  the  gradual  centralization  of  capital. 

It  is  not  the  amount  of  money  received  for  wages 
that  determines  whether  labor  is  cheap  or  dear,  but 
the  rate  is  fixed  by  the  amount  of  valuable  product 
secured  by  the  money  paid.  An  employer  may 
pay  two  dollars  for  one  man’s  work,  and  one  dollar 
and  a half  for  that  of  another,  but  the  higher  priced 
may  be  the  cheaper.  The  two  dollar  man  may  be  able 
to  do  twice  the  amount  of  work  as  the  one  who  is  paid 
one  dollar  and  a half.  Low  wages  are  often  the 
cause  of  poor  labor,  and  it  is  from  this  point  of  view 
that  capitalists  may  see  that  an  apparent  sacrifice 
may  result  in  their  ultimate  advantage. 

Economy  does  not  demand  the  lowest  priced 
labor,  but  the  labor  which  produces  the  most  at  the 
least  expense  is  always  the  most  profitable.  It  is 
certainly  clear  that  the  employer  who  engages  the 
man  who  is  vigorous,  intelligent  and  in  best  physical 
and  mental  condition,  will  profit  more  by  high  wages 
paid,  than  for  low  wages  paid  to  a miserable,  ignor- 
ant and  half-starved  animal. 

E.  P.  Smith,  in  his  Political  Economy,  says: 
“Looking  upon  a human  laborer,  then,  as  we  would 
upon  a steam  engine,  we  see  that  the  amount  of 
force  which  he  is  capable  of  creating  depends  upon 
the  amount  of  food  supplied  to  him;  a part  of  it  an- 
swering the  purpose  of  the  coal  which  gives  heat, 
another  answering  to  the  water  which  is  converted 
into  steam  and  generates  motion.  A sheet  iron 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


161 


jacket  put  around  the  boiler  prevents  the  waste  of 
heat  in  one  case,  just  as  a woolen  jacket  about  the 
body  of  the  laborer  does  in  the  other.  But  food, 
clothing  and  shelter,  are  supplied  to  the  human 
machine  in  the  shape  of  wages.  To  stint  them,  and 
to  keep  the  laborer  down  to  the  lowest  point  that 
will  induce  him  to  live,  without  deterring  him  from 
propagation,  is  precisely  the  same  kind  of  economy 
which  would  keep  the  steam  engines  of  a nation  at 
half  their  working  power  to  save  wood,  water 
and  sheet  iron.  The  rate  of  wages  which  such  con- 
siderations would  demand  has  been  attained  in  very 
few  regions  of  the  world.  Suppose  it  anywhere  to 
have  been  reached:  the  laborer  is  only  brought  up 
to  the  condition  of  an  ox.  ” 

At  a Knights  of  Labor  celebration  in  1887, 
Hon.  William  Walsh,  among  other  remarks,  said: 
“Wages  arise  where  one  is  paid  for  his  labor  or 
services  to  another.  Profit  arises  where  one  puts 
his  capital  at  risk  in  production  of  some  beneficial 
kind,  and  what  has  been  gained  after  paying  wages, 
rent,  interest  and  other  expenses,  is  profit. 

“Labor  is  to  some  extent  capital,  because  it  re- 
quires a good  deal  of  capital  to  bring  an  infant  to 
manhood  and  educate  him  for  the  occupation  he  is 
to  follow.  It  cannot  justly  be  treated  as  a mere 
commodity.  The  workman  cannot  be  separated 
from  humanity,  and  the  rights  and  duties  that  en- 
viron him  as  a man  and  a citizen,  and  I regard  all 
who  labor  with  hand  or  brain  as  workmen.  All 


162 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


who  think,  plan,  direct,  record,  invent,  who  con- 
tribute to  whatever  sustains,  enlightens,  graces,  hu- 
man life,  are  workmen.  Every  increase  of  capital 
creates  an  increased  demand  for  labor  of  some  sort; 
for  capital  will  generally  seek  profitable  use.  It  is 
only  the  weak  and  ignorant  who  bury  their  talent. 
Hence  we  are  all  interested  in  the  increase  of  capi- 
tal, and  desire  to  give  all  the  safety  to  its  invest- 
ment that  may  be  consistent  with  the  welfare  of  so- 
ciety in  reference  to  the  great  objects  for  which  so- 
ciety is  organized. 

“We  all  are  interested  with  wages  and  profits. 
Between  these  two  poles  the  labor  questions  chiefly 
play.  While  the  rate  of  movement  in  population 
and  in  capital,  and  the  fluctuation  in  the  cost  of 
necessaries  have  effect  on  wages,  yet  it  is  recognized 
by  all  economists,  and  is  a truth  which  the  work- 
ingmen should  stand  firmly  to,  that  the  standard  of 
living  is  one  of  the  chief  foundations  to  establish 
good  wages  upon. 

“ ‘Is  man’s  life  cheap  as  brutes?’  is  a vital  ques- 
tion in  this  discussion,  which  Shakespeare  puts  in 
the  mouth  of  one  of  his  characters.  Universally 
wherever  the  standard  of  living  has  been  kept  high, 
wages  have  been  best  maintained.  Wages  will 
never  go  higher  than  the  point  where  profits  cease. 
The  capitalist  will  quit  the  business  ultimately  if 
profits  cease.  Fair  profits  then  give  the  upper  limit 
of  wages.  The  standard  of  living  is  the  lower  limit. 
Keep  this  standard  high  and  let  it  become  traditional, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


163 


bred  in  the  sentiments  and  habits  of  the  people,  and 
wages  will  never  go  below  it.  The  capitalist  will 
withdraw  when  his  profits  vanish . The  worker  must 
cease  to  work  and  retire  from  the  field  when  the 
wages  offered  will  no  longer  furnish  himself  and 
his  family  with  means  to  procure  comfort  and  respect- 
ability, and  make  his  home  a place  of  sanctity  and 
endearment. 

4 ‘Workers  must  start  from  a high  point  01  self-val- 
uation, and  never  go  below  it.  In  apolitical  sense, 
the  high  standard  of  living  is  a chief  requirement 
for  the  preservation  of  our  republican  institutions. 
And  it  is  a public  duty  of  the  most  sacred  kind  to 
protect  the  workingmen  of  the  country  in  all  means 
and  all  natural  and  civil  rights  to  secure  a high 
standard  of  living.  They  are  American  citizens, 
and  the  safeguarding  of  liberty  and  public  virtue  is 
entrusted  to  their  charge.  The  high  standing  of 
living  has  saved  the  labor  of  Switzerland  from  de- 
gradation, though  the  country  is  not  rich  in  capital. 
The  low  standard  of  living  has  produced  the  degra- 
dation of  labor  witnessed  among  the  Orientals.  The 
low  standard,  if  once  allowed,  will  be  further  re- 
duced until  man’s  life  will  be  cheaper  than  the 
brute’s.  In  the  slave  days,  a Southern  master  asked 
his  servant  to  do  a piece  of  work  attended  with 
danger.  He  said  to  the  master:  4 You  had  better 
let  John  (the  white  man)  do  that.’  The  master 
asked  him  why.  The  colored  man  said:  4 If  I go  up 
there  and  fall  I will  be  killed,  and  you  will  lose  $1,- 


164 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


500;  but  if  John  falls  you  will  lose  nothing.’  The 
master  saw  the  point  and  sent  John.  The  freeman 
must  look  out  for  himself,  and  all  are  now  free. 

“The  tendency  of  the  fierce  competition  between 
capitalists,  the  multiplication  of  machinery,  the 
ever-flowing  tide  of  emigration,  woman  labor  and 
child  labor,  to  reduce  wages  may  be  largely  resisted 
by  the  elevation  which  a high  standard  of  living 
communicates  to  the  sentiments  and  expectations  of 
the  wage  earners  and  to  wages.  If  this  standard  is 
lowered  the  American  wofkmen  would  in  time  be 
prostrated  to  the  level  of  the  degradation  which  may 
be  seen  among  the  toilers  of  the  eastern  world.- 
American  citizenship  would  be  debased,  and  the  ar- 
rogance of  wealth  and  the  insolence  of  its  satelites 
and  dependents  would  dominate  over  us.  W e would 
have  proved  ourselves  unworthy  of  freedom,  because 
we  were  unable  to  preserve  that  elevation  of  senti- 
ment and  dignity  of  character  which  are  essential 
to  the  permanence  of  our  American  freedom. 

“The  capitalist  fights  every  thing  that  resists  cheap 
production  and  lessens  profits.  He  regards  labor 
as  a commodity.  He  sees  no  law  but  that  of  sup- 
ply and  demand.  He  forgets  that  the  laborer  is  a 
man,  a citizen  and  Christian,  that  he  raises  a fami- 
ly, and  that  families  make  the  state,  and  that  the 
state  will  reflect  the  elevation  or  degradation  of  the 
families  that  compose  it.  He  takes  no  account  of 
the  ten  commandments,  nor  of  the  grandeur  and 
glory  of  the  state. 


HAPPY  TOILERS, 


n^miB 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  167 

“If  labor  submits  to  a low  standard  of  living, 
low  wages  will  prevail,  and  the  workingmen  will 
find  poor,  low  priced  goods  and  unhealthy  tene- 
ments prepared  to  suit  their  fallen  condition.  Work- 
ingmen should  never  buy  adulterated  food  or  drink, 
shoddy  or  sizing  clothes,  or  occupy  filthy  tenements. 
They  should  boycott  these  and  stop  the  production 
of  them,  because  they  will  be  produced  to  meet  the 
lowered  condition  of  wage  earners. 

“There  is  one  method  of  elevating  wages  that 
capital  could  not  possibly  resist,  but  it  will  take  time 
and  sacrifice  from  wage  earners  to  place  them- 
selves in  the  condition  to  apply  it. 

‘ ‘The  capitalist  treats  labor  as  a commodity.  He  is 
governed  solely  by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
He  encourages  by  emigration,  long  hours,  spasmod- 
ic activities,  and  suspension  of  production,  and 
other  means,  a surplus  supply  of  labor.  Labor  has 
no  capital  ahead.  The  workingman  and  his  family 
must  have  food  and  shelter  from  day  to  day.  He 
cannot  withdraw  his  labor  from  a low  market,  as 
the  capitalist  can  his  productions.  Providence  has 
arranged  that  crops  come  in  annually  to  encourage 
prudence,  foresight  and  economy  among  men.  The 
man  that  has  saved  enough  to  support  himself  and 
family  for  one  year  is  independent.  Produc- 
tion cannot  stop  for  one  year.  And  if  wage 
earners  would  determine  as  rapidly  as  possible  to 
save  and  accumulate  one  year’s  living,  they  would 
be  absolutely  independent  of  the  fluctuations,  artb 


168 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ficial  or  otherwise,  of  the  excessive  supply  of  labor. 
They  would  be  able  to  withdraw  their  labor  from 
the  market  until  the  wages  come  up  to  the  Ameri- 
can standard  of  high  living. 

“It  is  one  of  the  few  well-established  doctrines 
of  political  economy,  that  increase  of  wages  never 
comes  off  the  consumer,  and  must  come  out  of  pro- 
fits. Good  wages  reduce  the  profits  of  the  capitalist, 
but  do  not  inhance  the  price  to  the  public.  The 
rule  is,  that  it  is  the  quantity  of  labor  required  to  pro- 
duce an  article  that  increases  its  price  to  the  con- 
sumer, and  that  the  value  or  cost  of  the  labor  cannot 
in  the  workings  of  economic  laws,  be  transferred  to 
the  consumer.  But,  even  if  high  wages  did  not 
come  out  of  profits  alone,  but  enhanced  the  price 
of  the  commodity,  the  community  would  suffer  in- 
finitely more  from  the  moral  and  political  degen- 
eracy which  must  inevitably  result,  and  always  and 
everywhere  has  resulted,  from  low  wages  and  low 
standard  of  living  than  it  would  lose  by  any  cheap- 
ening commodities  effected  by  lowering  wages.  Our 
institutions  are  priceless,  and  must  be  maintained 
and  handed  down  to  all  the  generations  that  are  to 
spring  from  the  present.  We  cannot  barter  them 
away  for  cheaper  goods. 

“The  wealth  of  the  world  would  be  no  compen- 
sation to  freemen  for  the  degeneracy  of  their  man- 
hood and  the  debasement  of  the  uplifting  spirit  that 
animates  our  glorious  republican  institutions.  The 
constant  increase  of  machinery,  steam  transit,  and 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


169 

the  whole  tendency  of  the  present  industrial  system 
is  to  release  capital,  dispense  with  the  quantity  ot 
labor  required  in  production,  increase  the  surplus 
of  labor,  and  lower  wages  down  to  the  starvation 
line,  and  far  below  the  standard  of  respectable,  dig- 
nified and  decent  living,  without  which  the  days  of 
our  freedom  an?  glory  will  rapidly  pass  away,  and 
the  great  American  Republic  will  die  from  the  in- 
ordinate avarice  of  the  few,  and  the  lack  of  manly 
spirit  and  public  virtue  in  the  many. 

44  Freemen  were  never  charged  with  a more  sa- 
cred duty  than  now  commands  the  American  people 
to  unite  together  and  concentrate  all  the  force  of 
enlightened  and  patriotic  public  sentiment  and  opim 
ion  against  low  wages,  and  that  inevitable  degen- 
eracy of  the  spirit  of  the  people  and  institutions 
which  have  followed  low  wages  always  and  every- 
where.” 

In  answer  to  a question  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  wages  might  be  regulated,  Dr.  H.  J.  Parker 
replied  as  follows: 

44It  is  all  right  and  proper  for  workingmen  to 
form  unions  and  associations  for  mutual  protection 
and  improvement,  but  when  they  attempt  to  keep 
wages  up  on  a par  with  the  general  advancement  in 
other  fields,  without  taking  into  the  account  the  un- 
derlying forces  of  legislative  enactments  affecting 
money,  commerce  and  labor,  they  are  swimming 
against  the  current  and  will  finally  sink. 

4 ‘Workingmen  vote  for  men  and  parties  thatiegis- 

12 


170  THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 

late  for  the  Shylock  money  oppression,  that  permit 
high  tariffs  on  articles  of  general  consumption,  and  the 
free  importation  of  labor  to  take  the  places  of  home 
laborers,  and  yet  expect  by  some  means  to  main- 
tain a condition  of  labor  superior  to.  that  of  the 
European  wage  slave.  It  will  be  a failure.  They 
may  benefit  themselves  locally  and  temporarily,  and 
in  a few  instances  may  protect  themselves  during 
their  natural  lifetime,  but  it  cannot  be  a lasting  nor 
a general  protection  that  in  its  efforts  ignores  legis- 
lation that  alone  and  inexorably  determines  the 
destiny  of  a people. 

“As  our  country  becomes  developed  we  must  sink 
to  the  European  level,  unless  we  refuse  to  yield  to 
the  shaping  of  our  institutions  in  the  European 
channel. 

“With  the  European  money  system,  tax  and  land 
systems,  with  the  same  laws  governing  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  wealth,  it  is  only  a question 
of  time  as  to  where  we  will  go.  Wages  cannot  be 
regulated  arbitrarily.  They  must  go  with  every- 
thing else  sooner  or  later. 

“Co-operation  is  the  ultimatum  of  productive  in- 
dustry, the  highest  point  to  be  attained  in  manufac- 
ture. Labor  will  have  its  reward  when  it  gets  what 
it  produces.  Then  its  reward  will  be  regulated  by 
the  demands  of  consumption  and  will  seek  an  equil- 
ibrium and  its  proper  fields  of  action,  according  to 
the  demands  which  may  press  from  various  quarters. 

“Until  co-operation  is  perfected  we  must  regulate 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


171 


wages  by  regulating  incomes  on  capital,  supply  of 
labor,  etc.  If  we  have  the  right  to  restrict  interest 
on  money,  we  have  the  same  right  to  limit  incomes 
on  money  invested.  Limit  incomes  of  all  enter- 
prises to  a given  per  cent,  and  let  the  balance  go  to 
a fund  to  be  distributed  pro  rata  to  employes  accord- 
ing to  skill  and  time  put  in,  and  you  have  the  scien- 
tific solution  of  the  labor  question,  when  considered 
apart  from  general  legislation.  This  need  not 
destroy  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  will  not.  It  will 
give  an  extra  stimulus  to  the  laborer,  and  make  him 
contented  and  emulative.  He  will  try  to  do  some- 
thing for  himself,  because  he  sees  an  opportunity 
for  something  in  the  future. 

“Just  how  far  this  kind  of  legislation  may  be 
necessary,  is  the  question  to  be  solved  by  an  intel- 
ligent ballot  from  time  to  time. 

“We  may  remember  that  government  itself  or 
civilization  itself  is  based  properly  on  the  premise 
of  protecting  the  weak  against  the  strong,  the  good 
against  the  bad.” 

All  countries,  whether  commercial  or  manufac- 
turing, are  visibly  affected  by  periods  of  adversity 
and  prosperity,  and  are  subject  to  changes  of 
varying  intensity.  Laws  regulating  the  hours  of 
labor,  the  collection  of  revenue  and  the  like,  may 
alter  conditions  and  situations  to  some  degree,  but 
there  can  be  no  permanent  effect.  In  the  long  run 
wages  will  be  highest  in  that  country  or  locality 
where  capital  and  labor  fully  co-operate  and,  at  the 


172 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


lowest  cost,  together  make  up  the  greatest  amount 
of  product.  As  conditions  change,  labor  may  be 
displaced  for  a time,  and  poverty  may  ensue,  but 
this  poverty  is  brought  about  more  from  the  destruc- 
tion of  capital  and  in  rendering  land  valueless,  than 
from  other  causes. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


178 


CHAPTER  XI. 


ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS  CF  TRADES 
UNIONS. 

THE  DISCLOSURE  OF  HISTORY ANTIQUITY  OF  COMBINA- 
TIONS BY  WORKINGMEN THE  OLD  GUILDS  OF  EUROPE 

THE  FIRST  AUTHENTIC  ORGANIZATIONS THE  POW- 
ER OF  ORGANIZATIONS  SIX  HUNDRED  YEARS  AGO 

THE  CRUELTIES  PRACTICED  IN  ENGLAND THE  SECRET 

OF  THEIR  STRENGTH UNIONS  HAVE  ELEVATED  WAGES 

WORKINGMEN  CANNOT  BE  TOO  WELL  PAID UNION 

MEN  THE  BEST  WORKMEN LITERATURE  FOR  LABOR 

UNIONS  ARE  EDUCATING  WORKINGMEN THEIR  GREAT 

FUTURE. 

It  is  a singular  fact  that  history  discloses  a sys- 
tematic oppression  of  labor  in  all  ages,  and  from 
time  immemorial  there  has  been  a constant  resist- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  laborer. 

In  attempting  to  trace  the  origin  of  combinations 
and  organizations  among  workingmen  and  laborers, 
we  find  their  beginning  lost  in  the  remote  ages. 
The  first  authentic  evidences  of  such  organizations, 
according  to  Brentano,  are  found  in  the  history  of 


m 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOB. 


the  northern  German  tribes  of  Europe,  which  were 
called  guilds  or  gilds.  Guilds  were  originally  feasts 
and  gatherings  held  in  celebration  of  births,  marri- 
ages and  deaths.  Other  events,  such  as  coronations, 
national  assemblies  and  the  like,  were  the  occasion 
of  similar  banquets  and  deliberative  assemblages. 
These  guilds  led  to  the  formation  of  a kind  of 
brotherly  alliance  between  those  of  similar  occupa- 
tions or  modes  of  life,  and  eventually  the  term  guild 
expressed  the  idea  of  a common  community  or  so- 
ciety. 

The  spirit  of  association  naturally  found  its  way 
into  the  ranks  of  labor,  and  as  early  as  the  eighth 
century  the  organization  of  guilds  had  become  al- 
most an  universal  custom. 

These  guilds  assumed  a general  classification  and 
were  divided  into  Keligious,  Merchant  and  Craft 
guilds.  The  religious  guild  was  the  prototype  of 
church  denominations,  the  merchant  guild  the  pre- 
decessor of  corporations,  and  the  craft  guild  the  arch- 
etype of  the  modern  trade  union.  The  craft  guild 
grew  up  among  the  old  freemen  hundreds  of  years 
ago,  and  to-day  we  see  trades  unions  as  combinations 
of  workingmen  united  in  common  defense  of  their 
rights  as  against  the  oppressive  tendencies  of  great 
capitalists. 

It  was  in  the  twelfth  century,  during  the  reign  of 
Henry  II,  that  the  first  organization,  akin  to  the 
present  trade  union,  was  formed  in -England,  and 
since  that  time  the  general  tenor  of  legislation  hap 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK.  175 

been  much  against  the  interests  of  the  workingman, 
and  proportionately,  has  been  enacted  in  behalf  of 
the  capitalist. 

The  essence  of  the  craft  guilds  was  “ mutual  sup- 
port, mutual  protection,  and  mutual  responsibility.” 
Their  exclusiveness  widened  the  separation  between 
the  craftsmen  and  their  employers,  and  served  to 
give  each  different  views  and  interests.  In  the  four- 
teenth century  the  masons  maintained  a higher  rate 
of  wages  than  was  received  by  other  trades,  solely 
on  account  of  their  organization,  and  in  1383  the 
authorities  of  London,  alarmed  at  the  power  exer- 
cised by  the  unions,  forbade  all  “congregations, 
covins,  and  conspiracies  of  workmen.” 

In  1396,  a coalition  of  shoemakers  was  disbanded 
by  the  authorities.  Notwithstanding  the  legislation 
against  them,  the  workingmen  continued  to  com- 
bine, but  the  history  of  the  working  classes  during 
the  next  three  centuries  is  a tale  of  suffering  and 
sadness.  They  resisted  in  every  way  possible,  but 
were  met  at  every  hand  with  brutal  force  and  infa- 
mous laws.  While  Edward  YI  was  on  .the  throne, 
an  act  was  passed  to  brand  a man  who  refused  to 
work  at  “statute  prices,”  with  the  letter  “Y”  (vag- 
abond), and  reduce  him  to  slavery  for  two  years. 

Nearly  all  of  the  attempts  of  parliament  to  fix 
wages  were  failures.  At  the  dawn  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  combination  laws  were  universally  in 
operation,  and  the  workingman  worked  sixteen 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four.  With  the  introduction 


176 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


of  steam  power,  the  domestic  system  of  manufac- 
turing declined,  and  trades  unions  perfected  their 
organizations.  The  workingmen  met  the  combina- 
tions of  their  employers  to  keep  down  the  price  of 
labor,  with  organizations  to  keep  them  up.  Capital 
has  heretofore  been  directed  against  ignorant  and 
uneducated  men,  but  the  conditions  have  changed 
in  the  last  fifty  years. 

In  speaking  of  trades  unions,  Trant  says  : “ They 
are  built  on  a rock — a firm,  sound,  substantial  ba- 
sis. They  cannot  be  annihilated.  If  they  are  done 
away  with  to-day , they  would  spring  up  again  to-mor- 
row the  same  as  in  the  celebrated  dispute  with  Messrs. 
Platt,  of  Oldham;  when  the  men  were  starved 
into  submission,  and  were  obliged  to  give  up  their  un- 
ion, yet  they  rejoined  as  soon  as  they  were  at  work.” 

It  is  evident  that  workingmen  are  everywhere 
becoming  less  and  less  indifferent  to  the  ,caprice 
of  their  employers.  When  they  demand  just  laws 
their  request  cannot  longer  be  passed  unheeded,  be- 
cause they  are  able  to  show  that  they  are  as  com- 
petent as  any  other  class  to  judge  of  their  own 
needs  and  requirements. 

One  of  the  fundamental  elements  which  go  to  make 
up  a trade  union,  is  brotherly  sympathy.  This  admi- 
rable sentiment  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  workingmen. 
Prof.  Rogers  writes:  “I  confess  that  I look  for- 
ward to  the  international  union  of  labor  partner- 
ships as  the  best  prospect  the  world  has  of  coerc- 
ing those  hateful  instincts  of  governments,  all  alike 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


177 


irresponsible  and  indifferent,  by  which  nations  are 
perpetually  armed  against  each  other,  to  the  infinite 
detriment,  loss,  and  demoralization  of  all.” 

One  of  the  general  results  of  unions  has  been  a 
raise  in  the  payment  of  wages.  Usually,  the  rela- 
tions between  workingmen  and  their  employers 
imply  a pecuniary  bargain,  and  when  differences 
have  arisen,  the  efficacy  of  organization  has  been 
shown  in  the  securing  of  better  conditions.  A gen- 
eral review  of  the  history  of  trades  unions  indicates 
a gain  for  them.  It  is,  however,  difficult  to  point 
out  to  what  extent  a raise  in  wages  is  due  to  the  di- 
rect action  of  a union,  because  the  elements  of  gen- 
eral progress  and  prosperity  have  much  to  do  with 
the  amount  of  product,  therefore,  with  the  amount 
of  wages  paid. 

Few  employers  when  unasked  advance  the 
amount  of  wages  paid,  and  the  workingman  in  seek- 
ing to  better  his  condition  cannot  well  strike 
singly. 

If  a strike  fails,  it  shows  that  the  men  have  the 
capacity  to  combine  in  such  a way  that  the  em- 
ployer may  well  fear,  and  despite  failure,  strikes 
are  often  successes.  The  loss  incident  upon  a 
strike  renders  future  demands  for  just  dues  a more 
readily  adjusted  affair  than  the  first  difficulty.  An 
ineffectual  strike  often  proves  to  be  one  of  general 
effect,  for  non-unionists  invariably  gain,  to  some  ex- 
tent, the  advantages  of  the  unionist. 

The  action  of  the  trades  unions  in  gaining  an  in- 


178 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


crease  in  the  amount  of  wages  paid,  does  not  affect 
the  purchasing  power  of  their  stipends.  This  stimu- 
lates trade  in  a general  way,  for  the  workingman 
and  his  family  are  ever  willing  to  spend  his  hard 
earned  dollars  in  pecuniary  additional  comforts  for 
the  household.  A general  rise  in  wages  through- 
out the  United  States  would  increase  our  exports  to 
an  enormous  amount,  and  every  department  of  trade 
would  feel  an  impetus. 

There  is  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  intelligent  and 
candid  thinkers,  that  trades  unions  are  the  source 
of  material  profit  and  a general  increase  of  pro- 
ducts, and  employers  have  learned  that  union  men 
are,  as  a rule,  better  workmen.  Every  manufactur- 
er knows  that  a good  workman,  though  paid  high 
wages,  is  of  more  value  to  him  than  a poor  work- 
man at  less  wages. 

“It  seems  strange  that  in  this  enlightened  age,” 
Trant  writes,  “there  are  persons  who  believe  that 
men  can  have  more  wages  than  is  good  for  them. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  being  too  well  paid.  The 
men  who  think  so  are,  as  a rule,  those  who  are 
plentifully  provided  with  the  blessings  of  this  life, 
and  who  opposed  the  movement  in  favor  of  univer- 
sal education,  because  they  objected  to  working- 
men being  too  well  educated,  as  it  would  make  them 
discontented  with  their  4 station,’  as  if  there  was 
such  a thing  as  too  much  education.  . . . All 

that  is  maintained  here  is  that,  though  some  evil 
may  creep -in  with  a rise  of  wages,  as  it  seems  to  do 


COAL  UNDER  DIFFERENT  ASPECTS. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


181 


with  an  increase  of  wealth,  yet  that  good  wages  are 
a great  blessing,  and  ought  to  be  gladly  welcomed 
by  those  who  even  have  not  yet  reached  that  stage 
of  morality  of  endeavoring  to  love  their  neighbors 
as  themselves.” 

The  great  movement  which  has  agitated  every 
state  in  America  has  been  the  cause  of  the  springing 
up  of  scores  of  newspapers  which  are  wholly  de- 
voted to  educating  the  rank  and  hie  of  the  work- 
ingmen. Newspapers  are  now  seen  in  homes  which 
never  before  were  blessed  with  them,  and  public 
schools  are  showing  a decided  increase  because  of 
their  influence.  The  men,  too,  show  a general  de- 
sire to  improve  in  their  respective  trades.  The  bet- 
ter the  workman,  the  sooner  he  leaves  incompetent 
associates  and  becomes  a unionist.  All  union  men 
are  not  superior  workmen,  but  very  few  experts  are 
non-union  men.  Men  outside  the  unions  are  gener- 
ally inferior  workmen  employed  at  greatly  reduced 
rates. 

An  iron  manufacturer,  in  writing  of  the  influence 
of  unions  on  his  men,  said:  “ I have  had  twenty 
years  of  pretty  close  acquaintanceship  with  artisans 
and  laborers  of  all  kinds,  and  I know  many  of  them 
have  much  sounder  views  of  common-sense  political 
economy  than  the  middle  classes  in  general  hold.  I 
look  upon  trade  unions  as  admirable  training  schools 
for  the  workmen,  where  they  will  soon  outgrow  their 
heresies  on  the  subject  of  capital  and  labor,  where- 
as, if  they  are  brow  beaten  and  scolded  in  a violent 


manner,  they  will  begin — as  some  of  them,  I fear, 
have  already — to  think  that  masters  are  to  be  re- 
garded as  their  natural  enemies,  and  treated  accord- 

ingly- 

“The  uneducated  workmen  are,  as  a rule,  a rath- 
er violent  set  of  fellows,  it  must  be  admitted;  but  I 
can  see  that,  under  the  training  and  leadership  of 
the  foremost  men  in  the  unions,  these  are  fast  be- 
coming a very  small  minority,  as  they  are  very 
plainly  and  forcibly  told  that  the  old  way  of  settling 
disputes  with  their  employers  is  about  the  very 
worst  that  could  be  adopted.  This,  coming  from 
men  of  their  own  class,  they  are  daily  becoming 
more  and  more  ready  to  listen  to  with  respect,  which 
would  not  be  the  case  if  it  emanated  from  the  em- 
ployers’ class,  whom  they  have  good  grounds  for 
regarding  with  distrust  and  suspicion. 

‘ ‘ I know  enough  of  the  unprincipled  conduct  of 
the  employers,  through  their  agents  in  our  iron  in- 
dustry, to  understand  and  excuse  much  in  the  com 
duct  of  the  unionists  that  would  be  indefensible  on 
any  other  grounds  than  those  of  extreme  injustice 
and  most  heartless  provocation — not  that  the  em- 
ployers had  directly  perpetrated  such  things  person- 
ally, but  they  must  be  held  responsible,  seeing  that 
they  have  seldom  or  ever  taken  the  trouble  to  find 
out  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  disputed  points;  but  in 
ninety-nine  out  of  one  hundred  cases  the  underlings 
have  been  left  to  take  their  own  course  and  represent 
their  own  case  as,  of  course,  decidedly  angelic.  The 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


183 


unions  have  done  immense  service  in  bringing  about  a 
different  state  of  things,  and  to  my  certain  knowledge, 
it  has  been  due  to  the  influence  of  the  leaders  of  the 
unions  that  the  system  of  arbitration  has  been 
adopted  lately  in  so  many  industries;  and  this,  bear 
in  mind,  in  spite  of  the  dogged  resistance  of  many  of 
the  employers,  who  do  not  like  the  system  as  I have 
heard  them  say,  because  it  puts  a weapon  into  the 
men’s  hands  to  fight  with,  when  a dispute  arises 
about  the  rate  of  wages.” 

It  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  the  unions  have  a great 
future  before  them.  The  legitimate  end  of  pure  un- 
ionism is  to  allay  the  antagonism  between  labor  and 
. capital,  and  to  bring  the  employer  and  workingman 
to  a plane  of  mutual  understanding  and  mutual  ben- 
efit. 


184 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


AMERICAN  LABOR  UNIONS. 

THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  TRADE  UNION JOURNEYMEN 

SHIPWRIGHTS NEW  YORK  TYPOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY 

FIRST  LABOR  PARTY FRANKLIN  SOCIETY  OF  PRINT- 
ERS  NATIONAL  TYPOGRAPHICAL  UNION — THE  INTER- 
NATIONAL  HAT  FINISHERS IRON  MOULDERS ME- 
CHANICAL ENGINEERS  OF  AMERICA BROTHERHOOD  LO- 
COMOTIVE ENGINEERS— LOCOMOTIVE  FIREMEN CIGAR 

MAKERS BRICKLAYERS  AND  STONEMASONS PATRONS 

OF  HUSBANDRY — GRANGE RAILWAY  CONDUCTORS 

BOOT  AND  SHOEMAKERS  GERMAN-AMERICAN  TYPO- 
GRAPHICAL  HORSE-SHOERS IRON  AND  STEEL  HEAT- 
ERS  GRANITE  CUTTERS LAKE  SEAMEN BOILER 

MAKERS  — CARPENTERS  AND  JOINERS HAT  MAKERS 

MINERS  AND  MINE  LABORERS BAKERS SWITCH- 
MEN   TAILORS  — TELEGRAPH  MEN FURNITURE 

COOPERS — ETC. ETC  . 

Organizations  and  combinations  of  workingmen 
have  existed  in  the  United  States  over  one  hun- 
dred years.  On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1788,  there 
was  a grand  parade  in  Philadelphia,  and  all  of  the 
trades  were  represented  in  the  procession.  Those 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  185 

of  each  trade  were  appropriately  costumed  and  car- 
ried an  emblematic  flag. 

The  following  crafts  were  in  line  : Carpenters, 

boat-builders,  sail-makers,  ship- joiners,  rope-makers, 
cabinet-makers,  brickmakers,  painters,  clock  and 
watchmakers,  weavers,  bricklayers,  tailors,  carvers, 
turners,  coopers,  plane-makers,  blacksmiths,  nailers, 
coachmakers;  these  were  followed  by  hatters,  pot- 
ters, wheelwrights,  tinners,  printers,  glovers,  sad- 
dlers, stone-cutters,  bakers,  silversmiths  and  jewel- 
ers, goldsmiths,  coppersmiths,  gunsmiths,  foundry- 
men,  tanners,  curriers  and  upholsterers,  engravers, 
plasterers,  brushmakers,  brewers,  etc.,  etc. 

The  first  American  trade  union  was  the  New  York 
Society  of  Journeymen  Shipwrights,  which  was  in- 
corporated April  3,  1803.  The  New  York  Typo- 
graphical Society  No.  6,  was  formed  several  years 
later,  of-  which  Horace  Greeley  was  the  first  presi- 
dent. 

The  present  system  of  labor  unions  may  be  said 
to  have  formed  in  1825,  and  during  the  admin- 
istration of  John  Quincy  Adams.  During  this  pe- 
riod the  first  labor  party  had  birth,  and  through  its 
organs,  “ The  Workingman’s  Advocate,”  Daily 
“ Sentinel,”  and  “ Young  America,”  promulgated 
the  following  platform: 

1.  The  right  of  man  to  the  soil — “Vote  yourself 
a farm.” 

2.  Down  with  monopolies,  especially  the  United 
States  Bank. 

13 


186  THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 

3.  Freedom  of  public  lands. 

4.  Homesteads  made  inalienable. 

5.  Abolition  of  all  laws  for  the  collection  of  debts. 

6.  A general  bankrupt  law. 

7.  A lien  of  the  laborer  upon  his  own  work  for 
his  wages. 

8.  Abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt. 

9.  Equal  rights  for  women  with  men  in  all  re- 
spects. 

10.  Abolition  of  chattel  slavery,  and  wages 
slavery. 

11.  Land  limitation  to  150  acres:  no  person  af- 
ter the  passage  of  this  law  to  become  possessed  of 
more  than  that  amount  of  land.  But  when  a land 
monopolist  died,  his  heirs  were  to  take  each  his  le- 
gal number  of  acres,  and  be  compelled  to  sell  the 
overplus,  using  the  proceeds  as  they  pleased. 

12.  Mails  in  the  United  States  to  run  on  the  Sab- 
bath. 

These  radical  principles  were  enthusiastically  en- 
dorsed by  the  workingmen,  and  were  the  basis  upon 
which  they  founded  the  “ Workingmen’s  Party,” 
whose  convention  in  1830  nominated  Mr.  Ezekiel 
Williams  for  governor  of  New  York.  From  1830 
to  1840  the  labor  movement  was  more  active  than 
at  any  time  previous  to  the  rebellion.  A law  which 
had  been  enacted  in  Massachusetts  against  unions 
was  attacked  in  1842,  and  a complete  victory  was 
won  by  the  Journeymen  Boatmakers. 

The  Franklin  Society  of  Printers,  organized  at 
Cincinnati  in  1827,  was  the  earliest  of  the  printers’ 


HONEST  TOM  MAKES  A SPEECH 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


189 


unions.  After  a somewhat  checkered  career,  a na- 
tional call  was  made,  and  the  National  Typograph- 
ical Union  was  formed  in  1852.  They  became  the 
International  Typographical  Union  in  1869.  They 
have  over  355  local  unions  with  a membership  of 
over  18,000. 

In  1854,  The  National  Trade  Association  of  Hat 
Finishers  was  organized.  The  hatters,  in  their  vari- 
ous divisions,  have  about  10,000  members. 

The  Iron  Molders’  Union  was  formed  in  1859:  it 
now  has  300  subordinate  unions  with  a member- 
ship of  20,000. 

The  Machinists  and  Blacksmiths  formed  an  or- 
ganization in  1858.  In  the  following  year  they  re- 
ceived the  first  union  charter  granted  by  the  United 
States  government.  They  took  the  name  of  Mechan- 
ical Engineers  of  the  United  States  of  America  in 
1877.  10,000  members. 

Despite  serious  opposition,  the  glass-blowers  or- 
ganized at  Philadelphia  in  1848.  In  the  various 
divisions  of  their  organization  they  now  have  about 
30,000  members. 

The  Brotherhood  of  the  Foot-Board  was  organized 
in  1863.  The  locomotive  engineers  have  a mem- 
bership of  over  20,000,  and  now  are  known  as  “The 
Grand  International  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 
Engineers.”  The  locomotive  firemen,  also,  have  a 
brotherhood,  with  a membership  of  17,000,  which 
was  formed  in  1873,  and  is  now  known  as  “The 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen.” 


190 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


The  first  union  of  the  cigar-makers  was  formed 
in  1851,  and  since  have  acquired  a combined  mem’ 
bership  of  30,000. 

The  bricklayers  and  stone-masons,  organized  in 
1865,  has  a register  of  over  16,000  members,  and  is 
well  organized. 

In  1866,  “The  Patrons  of  Husbandry,”  other- 
wise known  as  the  National  Grange,  was  formed, 
and  now  has  over  800,000  members.  It  is  only 
rivaled  by  the  Knights  of  Labor  in  size. 

The  railway  conductors  perfected  their  organiza- 
tion in  1879,  and  are  now  called  the  “Order  of 
Railway  Conductors.”  Membership  about  8,000. 

The  boot  and  shoe  men  organized  in  1869,  but 
failed  in  the  general  strike  of  1873. 

The  National  German- American  Typographical 
Union  began  in  1873,  and  now  has  a roll  of  about 
1,200  members. 

The  union,  from  which  the  National  Horse-shoers 
Union  was  formed,  was  organized  in  1849.  The 
present  organization  was  perfected  in  1874,  and  has 
5,784  members. 

The  “Sovereigns  of  Industry”  formed  in  1874,  and 
four  years  later  had  180,000  members.  The  order 
failed  in  1880,  and  in  1886  was  re-organized.  Its 
object  is  co-operation  and  to  shut  out  the  “middle- 
man” in  all  departments  of  business. 

The  iron  workers  organized  two  unions  in  1873, 
called  the  Associated  Brotherhood  of  Iron  and  Steel 
Heaters,  and  the  Iron  and  Steel  Roll-hands’  Union. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


191 


They  combined  with  the  Sons  of  Vulcan  in  1876, 
and  are  now  known  as  the  Amalgamated  Associa- 
tion of  Iron  and  Steel  Workers.  They  number  in 
all,  60,000. 

The  Granite-cutters  National  Union  was  formed 
in  1877. 

In  1878,  the  organization  named  the  Lake  Sea- 
men’s Union  was  organized,  and  now  has  a mem- 
bership of  8,000. 

The  Tasters'  Protective  Union  of  New  England 
was  organized  in  1879,  has  fifty-eight  branches  and 
7,860  members. 

The  members  of  the  International  Brotherhood 
of  Boilermakers,  and  Iron  Shipbuilders  and  Help- 
ers, have  a membership  of  20,000.  These  work- 
men first  organized  in  1880. 

The  Brotherhood  of  Carpenters  and  Joiners  of 
America  is  the  outgrowth  of  previous  organizations, 
the  first  of  which  was  formed  in  1854.  The  pres- 
ent name  was  taken  in  1881.  It  has  about  42,500 
members.  There  is  also  an  United  Order  of  Car- 
penters. 

In  1883,  the  National  Hatmakers’  Union  was  or- 
ganized. 

The  railroad  brakemen  formed  their  National 
Brotherhood  in  1884,  and  now  have  18,000  members. 

The  National  Federation  of  Miners  and  Mine  La- 
borers is  a combination  of  various  coal  and  mining 
organizations,  and  has  a roll  of  90,000  members. 
The  present  order  adopted  its  name  in  1885. 


>192 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


, In  1886  the  Journeymen  Bakers’ National  Union 
was  formed,  and  lias  a present  membership  of  25,000. 

The  Switchmen’s  Mutual  Aid  Association  was  or- 
ganized in  1886.  Its  membership  is  5,000. 

The  Custom  Tailors’  National  Union  has  18,000 
members;  the  Telegraph  Operators  and  Linemen 
have  10,000  members;  the  House  Painters,  10,000; 
the  Coopers’  Union,  10,000;  the  Furniture  Work- 
ers, 10,000;  and  the  Mule  Spinners  (in  the  cotton 
factories),  number  5,000.  There  are,  perhaps,  a 
score  of  other  organizations  whose  membership  is 
less  than  5,000. 

The  most  powerful  organization  of  workingmen 
extant,  isthe  Knights  of  Labor. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


193 


CHAPTEK  XIII. 


THE  KNIGHTS  OF  LABOR 

THE  CAUSE  OF  THEIR,  ORGANIZATION THE  GREAT  POW- 
ER OF  THE  ORDER URIAH  STEVENS,  THE  FOUNDER 

EARLY  HISTORY STRUGGLES ATTACKED  BY  PUL- 
PIT AND  PRESS ITS  GROWTH CHARACTER  OF  ITS 

MEMBERS WHO  THEY  ARE PRESENT  NUMBER A 

SEMI-SECRET  ORDER  THEIR  PREAMBLE  AND  PLAT- 
FORM OF  PRINCIPLES MANNER  OF  JOINING WHO 

ARE  ELIGIBLE LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS  OF  THE 

KNIGHTS LOCAL,  DISTRICT  AND  GENERAL  ASSEMBLIES 

—PASS-WORDS,  SIGNS  AND  GRIPS WOMEN  AS  MEM- 
BERS  INTERESTING  INFORMATION BIOGRAPHY  OF 

MR.  POWDERLY THE  OFFICERS— THE  EXECUTIVE  COM- 
MITTEE  A DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MANAGEMENT. 

The  exigencies  of  the  workingmen  in  the  United 
States  have  been  the  cause  of  creating  the  largest 
and  most  powerful  organization,  wholly  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  labor,  that  the  world  has  ever 
known. 

The  history  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  until  the  last 
few  years,  has  not  been  sufficiently  eventful  to  at- 
tract general  attention,  but  the  events  of  188G 


194 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


proved  conclusively  that  organization  of  the  work- 
ingmen throughout  the  land  had  been  perfected  up- 
on an  unparalleled  scale,  and  that  it  had  grown  in- 
to the  position  of  being  one  of  the  most  potent 
factors  of  this  decade  as  a social  and  industrial  force. 
The  growth  of  the  order  has  been  phenomenal,  both 
in  number  and  for  reaching  strength.  Its  history, 
and  its  influence  upon  industry,  have  become  matters 
for  the  historian. 

The  originator  of  this  vast  organization  was 
Uriah  Stephens,  a tailor  by  trade,  of  Philadelphia, 
who  was  born  in  Cape  May  County,  New  Jersey, 
in  1821. 

In  October,  1869,  the  ‘‘Garment-Cutters’  Society” 
of  that  city  grew  discouraged,  and  its  members  de- 
termined to  dissolve  their  society.  Immediately 
after  the  close  of  their  last  meeting,  Uriah  Stephens 
consulted  with  James  L.  Wright,  I.  M.  Hilser,  R. 
C.  McCauley,  William  Cook,  R.  M.  Keen,  and 
James  L.  Kennedy,  upon  the  advisability  of  form- 
ing a new  union.  All  of  them  were  clothing  cutters. 
The  plan  proposed  by  Mr.  Stephens  was  discussed 
and  met  with  hearty  approval. 

After  several  informal  meetings,  the  men  above 
named,  with  several  others,  met  at  Mr.  Stephens’ 
house  on  Thanksgiving  day,  1869,  and  the  associ- 
ation now  known  as  the  Knights  of  Labor  was 
formed.  The  chief  idea  of  their  organization 
was  a national  union  of  wage  earners  of  all 
classes. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


195 


The  members  were  bound  to  secrecy,  and  the 
existence  of  their  society  was  unknown  out- 
side of  their  own  number  for  several  years.  Like 
all  great  enterprises,  the  order  developed  slowly  at 
first,  but  it  grew  in  strength  and  gradually  gained  a 
foothold  in  the  estimation  of  workingmen. 

The  method  adopted  for  calling  a meeting  was 
the  marking  of  five  stars  upon  the  front  of  Inde- 
pendence Hall.  This  singular  and  mysterious  sign 
never  failed  to  bring  together  thousands  of  the 
working  class,  and  it  was  the  cause  of  much  adverse 
comment,  both  from  the  press  and  the  pulpit.  Be- 
cause the  object  and  principles  of  the  order  were 
unknown  and  miscomprehended,  the  organization 
was  bitterly  condemned  on  all  sides,  and  the  Catho- 
lic church  added  its  denunciation  to  the  general 
deluge  of  adverse  criticism. 

At  this  time  the  order  had  80,000  members,  but 
during  the  succeeding  five  years  their  number  ma- 
terially decreased,  and  in  1883  the  roll  fell  to  52,000 
members.  In  1871  their  present  name  was  adopted. 
Previous  to  the  publishing  of  the  objects  of  the 
order,  its  simple  plan  and  general  utility  every- 
where met  with  favor,  and  workingmen  in  all  of  the 
eastern  and  middle  states  were  rapidly  enrolled. 

Amid  this  clamor  of  defamation  the  leaders  de- 
cided to  make  public  their  aims  and  the  ultimate 
object  of  the  society.  In  June,  1878,  Mr.  Stephens, 
G.  M.  W.,  signed  a special  call  for  a meeting,  at 
which  he  said  they  had  met  “to  consider  the  ex- 


196 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


pediency  of  making  the  name  of  the  order  public, 
for  the  purpose  of  defending  it  from  the  tierce  as- 
saults and  defamation  made  upon  it  by  press,  cler- 
gy and  corporate  capital,  and  to  take  such  further 
action  as  shall  effectually  meet  the  grave  emer- 
gency.” 

There  is  a widespread  opinion  that  the  Knights 
of  Labor  are  solely  recruited  from  the  ranks  of  la- 
borers and  mechanics,  but  this  is  not  the  case. 
Among  their  number  may  be  found  men  and  wo- 
men of  all  producing  occupations.  The  growth  of 
the  order  has  been  such  that  over  three  hundred  new 
assemblies  have  been  formed  in  a single  month.  The 
total  number  of  Knights,  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  is  estimated  to  be  over  one  million. 

There  is  not  a branch  of  labor,  trade  or  profes- 
sion that  exists,  that  cannot  furnish  material  for  a 
Knights  of  Labor  assembly,  and  the  occupations  as 
are  not  organized  are  joined  together  in  ’separate 
assemblies.  This  order  is  not  only  because  of  its 
numerical  strength,  but  more  especially  on  account 
of  its  almost  certain  future,  the  most  important  la- 
bor combination  ever  conceived. 

The  name  may  or  may  not  be  well  chosen.  Many 
of  the  Knights  have  expressed  themselves  to  the 
effect  that  the  term  is  too  much  like  those  of  orders 
with  which  the  Knights  are  distinctly  at  war.  It 
was  this  feeling  which  prompted  them  to  change  the 
official  name  of  their  chief  executive  from  “ Grand” 
to  that  of  “ General  Master  Workman.”  Contrary 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


197 


to  current  belief,  the  Knights  of  Labor  is  only  a 
semi-secret  order.  Members  are  not  now  oath- 
bound,  but  are  simply  obligated  upon  word  of  hon- 
or to  keep  silent  as  to  the  workings  and  proceedings 
of  the  organization.  On  the  other  hand,  one  Knight 
is  not  permitted  to  reveal  another’s  connection  with 
the  order  without  the  latter’s  consent.  As  a general 
rule,  the  work  done  by  local  general  assemblies  is 
done  secretly,  as  expediency  demands. 

The  preamble  and  platform  of  principles  of 
the  order,  as  narrated  in  their  various  organs,  is 
briefly  summarized  as  follows: 

The  alarming  development  and  aggressiveness  of 
great  capitalists  and  corporations,  unless  checked, 
will  inevitably  lead  to  the  pauperization  and  hope- 
less degradation  of  the  toiling  masses. 

It  is  imperative,  if  we  desire  to  enjoy  the  full  bless- 
ings of  life,  that  a check  be  placed  upon  unjust 
accumulation,  and  the  power  for  evil  of  aggregated 
wealth. 

This  much  desired  object  can  be  accomplished 
only  by  the  united  efforts  of  those  who  obey  the  di- 
vine injunction,  “ In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt 
thou  eat  bread . ” 

Therefore  we  have  formed  the  Order  of  Knights 
of  Labor,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  and  direct- 
ing the  power  of  the  industrial  masses,  not  as  a po- 
litical party,  for  it  is  more — in  it  are  crystalized  sen- 
timents and  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
people,  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  when  exer- 


198 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


cising  the  right  of  suffrage,  that  most  of  the  objects 
herein  set  forth  can  only  be  obtained  through  legis- 
lation, and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  to  assist  in  nom- 
inating and  supporting  with  their  votes  only  such 
candidates  as  will  pledge  their  support  to  these 
measures,  regardless  of  party.  But  no  one  shall, 
however,  be  compelled  to  vote  with  the  majority, 
and  calling  upon  all  who  believe  in  securing  “ the 
greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,”  to  join 
and  assist  us,  we  declare  to  the  world  that  our 
aims  are: 

I.  To  make  industrial  and  moral  worth,  not 
wealth,  the  true  standard  of  individual  and  Nation- 
al greatness. 

II.  To  secure  to  the  workers  the  full  enjoyment 
of  the  wealth  they  create,  sufficient  leisure  in  which 
to  develop  their  intellectual,  moral  and  social  facul- 
ties; all  of  the  benefits,  recreation  and  pleasures  of 
associations;  in  a word,  to  enable  them  to  share  in 
the  gains  and  honors  of  advancing  civilization. 

In  order  to  secure  these  results,  we  demand  at  the 
hands  of  the  State: 

III.  The  establishment  of  Bureaus  of  Labor  Sta- 
tistics, that  we  may  arrive  at  a correct  knowledge  of 
the  educational,  moral  and  financial  condition  of 
the  laboring  masses. 

IV.  That  the  public  lands,  the  heritage  of  the 
people,  be  reserved  for  actual  settlers;  not  another 
acre  for  railroads  or  speculators,  and  that  all  lands 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


199 


now  held  for  speculative  purposes  be  taxed  to  tlieir 
full  value. 

Y.  The  abrogation  of  all  laws  that  do  not  bear 
equally  upon  capital  and  labor,  and  the  removal  of 
unjust  technicalities,  delays  and  discriminations  in 
the  administration  of  justice. 

YI.  The  adoption  of  measures  providing  for  the 
health  and  safety  of  those  engaged  in  mining,  man- 
ufacturing and  building  industries,  and  for  indem- 
nification to  those  engaged  therein  for  injuries  re- 
ceived through  lack  of  necessary  safeguards. 

YII.  The  recognition  by  incorporation,  of  trades, 
unions,  orders,  and  such  other  associations  as  may 
be  organized  by  the  working  masses  to  improve 
their  condition  and  protect  their  rights. 

YIII.  The  enactment  of  laws  to  compel  corpora- 
tions to  pay  their  employes  weekly,  in  lawful  mon- 
ey, for  the  labor  of  the  preceding  week,  and  giv- 
ing mechanics  and  laborers  a first  lien  upon  the 
products  of  their  labor  to  the  extent  of  their  full 
wages. 

IX.  The  abolition  of  the  contract  system  on  Na- 
tional, State  and  Municipal  works. 

X.  The  enactment  of  laws  providing  for  arbitra- 
tion between  employers  and  employed,  and  to  en- 
force the  decision  of  the  arbitrators. 

XI.  The  prohibition  by  law  of  the  employment 
of  children  under  fifteen  years  of  age  in  workshops, 
mines  and  factories. 


200 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


XII.  To  prohibit  the  hiring  out  of  convict  labor. 

XIII.  That  a graduated  income  tax  he  levied. 

And  we  demand  at  the  hands  of  Congress: 

XI Y.  The  establishment  of  a National  monetary 
system,  in  which  a circulating  medium  in  necessary 
quantity  shall  issue  direct  to  the  people,  without  the 
intervention  of  banks;  that  all  the  National  issue 
shall  be  full  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts, 
public  and  private;  and  that  the  Government  shall 
not  guarantee  or  recognize  any  private  banks,  or 
create  any  banking  corporations. 

XY.  That  interest  bearing  bonds,  bills  of  credit 
or  notes  shall  never  be  issued  by  the  Government, 
but  that,  when  need  arises,  the  emergency  shall  be 
met  by  issue  of  legal  tender,  non-interest  bear- 
ing money. 

XYI.  The  importation  of  foreign  labor  under 
contract  be  prohibited. 

XYII.  That  in  connection  with  the  postoffice,  the 
Government  shall  organize  financial  exchanges,  safe 
deposits  and  facilities  for  deposit  of  the  savings  of 
the  people  in  small  sums. 

XYIII.  That  the  Government  shall  obtain  pos- 
session, by  purchase,  under  the  rights  of  eminent 
domain,  of  all  telegraphs,  telephones  and  railroads, 
and  that  hereafter  no  charter  or  license  be  is- 
sued to  any  corporation  for  construction  or  opera- 
tion of  any  means  of  transporting  intelligence,  pas- 
sengers or  freight. 

And  while  making  the  foregoing  demands  upon 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


201 


the  State  and  National  Government,  we  will  endeav- 
or to  associate  our  own  labors. 

XIX.  To  establish  co-operative  institutions,  such 
as  will  tend  to  supercede  the  wage  system,  by  the 
introduction  of  a co-operative  industrial  system. 

XX.  To  secure  for  both  sexes  equal  pay  for 
equal  work. 

XXI.  To  shorten  the  hour&  of  labor  by  a general 
refusal  to  work  for  more  than  eight  hours. 

XXII.  To  persuade  all  employers  to  agree  to  ar- 
bitrate all  differences  which  may  arise  between  them 
and  their  employes,  in  order  that  the  bonds  of  sym- 
pathy between  them  may  be  strengthened,  and  that 
strikes  may  be  rendered  unnecessary. 

The  manner  of  joining  the  order  and  the  forming 
of  local  assemblies  is  of  interest,  and  the  following 
comments  are  given  for  the  benefit  of  the  uniniti- 
ated: 

Any  female  of  the  age  of  sixteen,  or  any  male  of 
the  age  of  eighteen,  whether  manufacturer,  em- 
ployer of  any  kind,  wage-worker  or  farmer,  is  eligi- 
ble to  become  a member,  except  lawyers,  bankers, 
professional  gamblers,  stock  brokers,  and  any  per- 
son who  makes,  or  sells,  or  derives  any  of  his  support 
from  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drink;  but  at  least 
three-fourths  of  every  local  assembly  must  be  com- 
posed of  wage-workers  or  farmers. 

No  local  assembly  can  be  organized  with  less 
than  ten  members. 

14 


202 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Assemblies  may  be  formed  of  any  particular  trade 
or  calling,  or  they  may  be  composed  of  all  trades. 
The  latter  are  termed  “ mixed”  assemblies. 

Assemblies  can  only  be  instituted  by  regularly 
commissioned  organizers. 

The  charter  fee  is  $16,  which  must  be  paid  to  the 
organizer,  and  for  which  will  be  sent  a charter,  seal 
and  supplies.  The  expenses  of  the  organizer  are 
not  included  in  the  charter  fee,  but  vary  according 
to  the  distance  traveled. 

Under  the  laws  of  the  Order  the  initiation  fee 
cannot  be  less  than  one  dollar  for  men  and  fifty 
cents  for  women. 

The  amount  of  local  dues  is  regulated  by  each 
local  assembly,  but  cannot  be  less  than  ten  cents 
per  month. 

The  Order  also  has  a Benefit  Insurance  Associa- 
tion, on  the  co-operative  plan,  which  went  into  op- 
eration November  1,  1883.  The  membership  fee  is 
$1.25,  and  on  the  death  or  total  disability  of  a mem- 
ber, an  assessment  of  only  twenty-five  cents  is  made. 
Until  the  membership  is  sufficient  to  pay  $500,  the 
amount  of  benefits  will  be  regulated  by  the  receipts 
from  assessments. 

After  a local  assembly  is  formed,  a candidate 
must  be  proposed  by  a member  in  good  standing, 
who  has  an  acquaintance  with  the  applicant. 

The  Order  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  is  not  a mere 
trade  union,  or  benefit  society;  neither  is  it  a polit- 
ical party.  Some  of  the  specific  aims  and  objects 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


203 


of  the  Order  are  set  forth  in  the  preamble  and  de- 
claration of  principles  published  from  week  to 
week,  but  any  and  every  measure  calculated  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  wage-workers,  morally, 
socially  or  financially,  comes  within  the  scope  of 
the  Order.  To  abolish  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the 
wage  system,  substituting  co-operation  therefor;  the 
settlement  of  all  difficulties  between  employer  and 
employe  by  arbitration;  to  educate  the  members  to 
an  intelligent  use  of  the  ballot,  for  their  own  bene- 
fit and  protection,  free  from  restraint  of  party  or 
the  undue  influence  of  employers  or  monopolies; 
opposition  to  land,  transportation,  currency  and 
all  other  monopolies  that  affect  the  interests  of 
the  masses,  and  the  protection  of  all  its  members 
in  the  exercise  of  all  their  rights  as  citizens,  are 
some  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  Order. 

Believing  that  these  objects  can  be  best  secured 
through  a thorough  organization  of  all  branches  of 
honorable  toil,  those  who  are  not  already  members 
are  cordially  invited,  and  if  they  approve  of  the  Or- 
der, to  secure  the  requisite  number  of  persons  to 
form  a local  assembly  in  their  locality,  an  organiz- 
er will  proceed  to  arrange  a date  for  founding  the 
assembly. 

Five  or  more  local  assemblies  in  any  locality, 
within  a reasonable  distance  of  each  other,  may  form 
a district  assembly,  for  the  better  protection  and  re- 
gulation of  trade  matters. 

Local  assemblies,  located  at  any  distance  from 


204 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


a district  assembly,  are  attached  directly  to  the  gen- 
eral assembly. 

The  general  assembly  meets  annually  on  the  first 
Monday  in  October  at  such  place  as  may  be  selected 
at  each  session,  and  is  the  highest  tribunal  of  the 
Order.  The  general  assembly  is  composed  of  gen- 
eral officers  and  representatives  from  the  district 
assemblies  and  local  assemblies  attached  to  the 
general  assembly. 

The  revenue  of  the  general  assembly  is  derived 
from  the  sale  of  supplies  and  a per  capita  tax  of 
si*  cents  per  quarter  for  every  member  in  good 
standing. 

Each  local  assembly  has  control  of  its  own  funds, 
and  local  co-operative  enterprises  are  encouraged. 

The  Order  has  a secret  work,  consisting  of  pass- 
words, signs  and  a grip,  for  the  protection  of  the 
meetings  against  those  not  members,  and  against 
expelled  or  suspended  members. 

Each  member  is  required  to  take  a pledge  of  honor, 
upon  joining,  to  obey  all  the  laws  of  the  Order,  and 
not  to  reveal  any  of  the  business  or  secret  work  of 
the  Order.  No  oath  is  taken. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  laws  or  workings  of  the 
Order  to  interfere  wiih  the  religious  views  of  any 
member. 

Each  local  assembly  is  known  by  a number,  as- 
signed by  the  general  secretary.  Each  local  will 
also  choose  a suitable  name  upon  organization. 

Local  assemblies  attached  to  the  districts  have  to 


URIAH  STEPHENS, 
Founder  of  the  K . of  j* 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


207 


pay  an  additional  per  capita  tax,  of  such  amount  as 
may  be  fixed  by  each  district  assembly,  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  same. 

Women  may  become  members  of  the  Knights  of 
Labor  under  the  same  laws  and  regulations  as  men, 
and  may  form  local  and  district  assemblies;  but  the 
charter  fee  of  a local  assembly,  composed  wholly  of 
women,  is  $11.  The  initiation  fee  for  women  is  fifty 
cents. 

The  Order  has  an  official  paper  known  as  the 
“Journal  of  United  Labor,”  published  semi-month- 
ly by  the  general  secretary,  and  each  local  assembly 
is  required  to  subscribe  for  at  least  one  copy  each 
year,  as  it  is  the  organ  of  official  communications 
from  the  general  master  workman  and  general  sec- 
retary of  the  Order. 

At  the  death  of  Uriah  Stephens  in  1879,  the  man- 
tle of  General  Master  Workman  fell  upon  Mr.  T. 
Y.  Powderly,  of  Scranton,  Pa. 

Terrence  Yincent  Powderly  is  of  Irish  parentage, 
and  was  born  at  Carbondale,  Pa.,  January  24,  1849, 
and  was  the  youngest  son  in  a family  of  twelve 
children.  Before  reaching  his  majority  he  went  to 
Scranton  and  entered  a railroad  machine  shop,  where 
he  received  $2. 50  a day.  While  there  he  took  a 
commercial  course  of  study,  became  a member  of  a 
literary  and  debating  society,  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  his  success  as  a public  speaker  and  a convincing 
writer. 

He  soon  joined  the  Knights  of  Labor,  and  became 


208 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


a leader  in  the  local  labor  committee  of  Scranton. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  formed  the  personal  acquaint- 
ance of  Uriah  Stephens  : and  was  elected  as  the 
head  of  the  organization  at  Scranton. 

He  urged  pacific  measures  and  moderation  dur- 
ing the  strikes  of  1877,  and  his  advice  was  the 
means  by  which  much  property  was  saved  from  de- 
struction. He  is  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  his  suc- 
cess as  a leader  of  men  is  due  to  his  broad  and  lib- 
eral ideas,  combined  with  sincere  purpose  and  clear 
judgment. 

Under  Mr.  Powderly’s  control,  the  Knights  of 
Labor  has  attained  its  present  strength  and  import- 
ance. His  mettle  and  aims  are  fully  expressed  in 
the  preamble  and  declaration  of  principles  of  the 
order,  which  has  been  scattered  broadcast  through- 
out the  land. 

He  has  served  as  Mayor  of  Scranton,  but  has  in- 
variably declined  to  accept  various  political  nomin- 
ations which  have  been  tendered  him,  among  which 
was  that  for  Governor. 

Richard  Griffiths,  of  Chicago,  was  elected  Gener- 
al Worthy  Foreman  in  1879,  and  after  serving  as 
General  Treasurer  two  terms,  was  elected  to  his 
present  office  October  13,  1886. 

Charles  H.  Litchman  was  elected  General  Secre- 
tary in  1878,  and  has  since  held  the  same  office.  He 
has  been  a member  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature. 
He  lives  in  Philadelphia. 

Frederick  Turner  is  General  Treasurer,  and  has 


209 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 

held  the  office  of  Secretary  and  Treasurer  since  1883. 

The  Executive  Board  of  the  organization  is  made 
up  by  the  following  gentlemen : 

Thomas  B.  Barry,  East  Saginaw,  Michigan;  John 
W.  Hays,  Hew  Brunswick,  Hew  Jersey ; William 
H.  Bailey,  Shawnee,  Ohio;  Albert  A.  Carlton, 
Somerville,  Massachusetts  ; Thomas  B.  McGuire, 
Hew  York  City  ; Ira  B.  Aylesworth,  Baltimore, 
Maryland. 

The  officers  of  a local  assembly  are  Master  Work- 
man, Worthy  Foreman,  Venerable  Sage  (retired 
Master  Workman),  Recording  and  Financial  Secre- 
tary, Treasurer,  Worthy  Inspector,  Almoner,  Un- 
known Knight,  Inside  and  Outside  Esquires,  Insur- 
ance Solicitor  and  three  Trustees. 

The  officers  of  state  assemblies  correspond  to  those 
of  the  local  assembly,  and  the  general  office  term 
is  two  years. 


210 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


STRIKES  AND  LOCKOUTS. 

A CAUSE  OF  RECENT  STRIKES  WHY  WORKINGMEN 

STRIKE STATISTICS  OF  STRIKES  IN  1880 SUCCESSES 

AND  FAILURES — COMPLETE  REVIEW  OF  THEIR  EFFECT 

AMOUNT  OF  LOSS  INCURRED  AGGREGATE  LOSSES 

IN  APRIL  AND  MAY,  1886  PUBLIC  SYMPATHY  FOR 

STRIKERS — POWDERLY  ON  STRIKES GREAT  THOUGHTS 

THE  POWER  OF  WEALTH  GIVING  WAY  TO  JUSTICE 

AND  RIGHT  A NEW  POWER  DAWNING  UPON  THE 

WORLD A BRIGHT  FUTURE  AT  HAND IDEAS  FOR 

WORKINGMEN  TO  THINK  AND  ACT  UPON. 

One  of  the  effects  resulting  from  the  rapid  organ- 
ization of  the  unions  during  the  last  decade,  is  an 
epidemic  of  strikes.  It  is  needless  to  say,  that  so- 
ber and  intelligent  workingmen  throughout  the  coun- 
try do  not  throw  down  their  tools  and  leave  their 
benches  without  provocation.  A week’s  wages  is 
more  to  a workingman  than  it  is  to  his  employer, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  it  means  a week’s  provis- 
ion for  himself  and  family,  while  his  employer  only 
suffers  a diminution  of  his  capital.  The  workingman 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


211 


strikes  because  he  feels  the  weight  of  manifest  in- 
justice, and  seeks  thereby  to  secure  redress  for  his 
grievances. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  strikes  have  been  precipitat- 
ed from  causes  that  could  have  been  removed  by 
more  pacific  measures  ; often  better  results  could 
have  been  secured.  Instances  can  be  cited  where 
petty  reasons  and  personal  animosity  have  been  the 
cause  of  strikes,  but  such  cases  are  few.  These 
movements,  as  a rule,  have  been  efforts  to  better  the 
condition  of  labor,  and  great  good  has  resulted,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  they  have  been  generally  un- 
successful. 

Mr.  Joseph  D.  Weeks,  of  the  census  bureau,  says 
in  a report  on  the  strikes  and  lockouts  of  1880,  that 
it  is  evident  that  these  labor  disturbances  are  grow- 
ing less  frequent.  The  number  of  strikes  in  certain 
of  the  prominent  trades,  as  given  in  the  report,  is  as 
follows:  Iron  and  steel  industries,  236;  coal  mining, 
158;  textile  trades,  46;  cigar-making,  42;  building 
trades,  36;  transportation,  36;  printing  trades,  28; 
glass  industries,  27  ; piano-making,  14;  boot  and 
shoe  making,  11. 

Much  the  greater  proportion  (71-J-  per  cent)  of  the 
strikes  and  lockouts  reported  upon,  were  caused  by 
differences  as  to  rates  of  wages.  A total  of  503,  or 
about  86  per  cent  of  those  relating  to  wages,  or  62 
per  cent  of  all,  were  for  an  advance,  and  77,  or  14 
per  cent,  of  those  relating  to  rates  of  wages,  or  9-J 
per  cent  of  all,  were  against  a reduction. 


212 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Of  481  strikes — 59  per  cent  of  the  whole — 169, 
or  35  per  cent,  were  successful;  85,  or  13  per  cent, 
were  compromised,  and  227,  or  47  per  cent,  were  un- 
successful. Of  307  strikes  for  an  advance,  127,  or 
41  per  cent,  were  successful;  62,  or  20  per  cent, 
were  compromised,  and  118,  or  39  per  cent,  were  un- 
successful. Of  45  strikes  or  lockouts  against  or  for 
a reduction,  3 only  were  successful,  8 were  compro- 
mised, and  34  were  unsuccessful. 

Of  20  strikes  in  connection  with  payment  of 
wages,  11,  or  35  per  cent,  were  successful,  6 were 
compromised,  and  three  were  unsuccessful.  Every 
strike  in  connection  with  hours  of  labor,  of  which  the 
result  is  given,  was  unsuccessful.  In  questions  rela- 
ting to  administration  and  methods  of  work,  the 
strikes  were,  as  a rule,  unsuccessful.  Of  813  stop- 
pages by  causes  reported  upon,  610,  or  88  per  cent, 
were  strikes;  85,  or  12  per  cent,  were  lockouts. 

Of  610  classified  as  strikes,  the  results  of  369  are 
given.  Of  these,  143,  or  39  per  cent,  were  success- 
ful; 156,  or  42  per  cent,  were  unsuccessful,  and  70, 
or  19  percent,  were  compromised.  Of  85 lockouts, 
the  results  of  52  are  given.  Of  these  10,  or  19  per 
cent,  were  successful;  34,  or  about  65  per  cent,  were 
unsuccessful,  while  8,  or  about  15  per  cent,  were 
compromised. 

In  414  strikes,  the  number  of  men  idle  were  128,- 
262,  making  an  average  of  about  310  men  to  each 
strike.  Of  these,  64,779  lost  $3,711,097,  or  $57  each. 
The  total  loss  in  wages  is  estimated  at  $13,003,866. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


213 


When  the  strikes  were  successful,  the  additional 
wages  compensated  for  a portion  of  this  loss. 

The  theory  and  practice  of  strikes  is  greatly  differ- 
ent to-day  from  that  of  the  past.  Intelligent  leaders 
have  perfected  organization,  and  the  working- 
man has  never  been  better  prepared  to  combat  his 
wrongs  and  secure  his  just  dues.  Labor  is  now  aware 
that  in  organization  lies  the  true  channel  to  a high- 
er plane  and  a better  condition,  and  with  due  regard 
for  the  law  of  the  land,  it  is  destined  to  accomplish  a 
righteous  advancement. 

The  following  is  a statement  of  the  aggregate  of 
losses  incident  upon  the  strikes  in  April  and  May, 
1886. 


Wages. 

New  York  City.  . .$300,000 


Philadelphia 60,000 

Smaller  Pa.  cities  . 70,000 

Detroit,  Mich 97,000 

Cincinnati 375,000 

Milwaukee 466,000 

New  England  cities  275,000 

St.  Louis 75,000 

Troy,  N.  Y 75,000 

Washington,  D.  C..  54,000 

Indianapolis 2,000 

Pittsburgh.: 30,000 

Louisville,  Ky . . . . 23.000 

Coal  strikes 200,000 

Chicago 700,000 


Current  New  Business 
Business.  Stopped. 

$300,000  $2,0'00,000 
50,000  5,000,000 

50.000  

25.000  850,000 

300.000  1,000,000 

200.000  4,000,000 
6,000,000 


150,000 

2,000,000 


75.000  300,000 

5,000  500,000 

500.000  Indeterm’e 

700.000  3,000,000 


Totals $2, 802, 000  2 ,1 05,000  24. 800, 000 

Grand  total $29,707,000 


214 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


In  commenting  upon  this  statement,  the  “Loco- 
motive Firemen’s  Magazine”  says:  “We  presume 
the  foregoing  figures  are  largely  guess  work,  mere 
approximations,  and  that  there  are  those  who  would 
probably  place  sum  totals  much  higher,  and  this 
could  be  done,  we  apprehend,  while  a strict  regard 
for  facts  would  be  maintained.  It  will  be  admitted, 
we  think,  that  the  larger  the  sum  total  of  losses  oc- 
casioned by  strikes,  the  more  aggravating  must  be 
the  causes  which  produce  them.  The  trouble  is  that 
men  contemplate  the  losses  and  lose  sight  of  the 
wrongs  which  provoke  them.  The  losses  to  such 
people  obscure  the  wrongs.  Fortunately  there  are 
those  who,  though  the  losses  by  strikes  are  enor- 
mous, maintain  that  the  wrongs  which  produce  strikes 
and  occasion  the  losses  demand  first  consideration, 
and  they  are  right  in  their  conclusions. 

Take  any  of  the  industrial  enterprises  that  have 
suffered  losses  by  the  recent  strikes,  and  employers 
select  the  most  expressive  terms  in  speaking  of  their 
losses  and  to  magnify  the  rectitude  of  their  treat- 
ment of  employes,  as  also  the  base  ingratitude  of 
those  who  struck.  They  are  in  positions  to  obtain  the 
public  ear — they  have  money  and  influence,  and  are 
the  first  to  command  audience.  They  never  did  say 
the  employe  was  right — always  wrong.  The  strik- 
ers come  in  later,  and  often  after  the  verdict  of  the 
public  has  been  rendered. 

If  the  strike  touches  the  transportation  interests 
of  the  country,  railroads  or  watef  transportation,  or, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


215 


if  as  in  the  case  of  the  telegraph  strike,  it  interferes 
with  the  transmission  of  intelligence,  the  strikers  find 
at  once  that  overwhelming  opposition  confronts 
them,  for  though  the  great  public  may  not  believe  the 
strikers  in  the  wrong,  or  may  believe  that  their  griev- 
ances are  aggravating,  still,  as  the  method  of  redress 
involves  the  public  in  embarrassments  and  inconve- 
niences, it  demands  that  the  strikers  shall  resume 
work  or  that  others  shall  be  employed  in  their  places, 
regardless  of  the  wrongs  complained  of,  and  as  a 
consequence  the  wrongs  which  led  to  the  strike  are 
obscured.  Take  as  an  illustration  the  telegraph 
strike  which  occurred  some  years  ago. 

The  real  investment  made  by  the  owners  of 
the  telegraph  lines  amounted  to  about  $40,000- 
000.  The  stock  of  the  corporation  had  been  water- 
ed until  it  swelled  to  $80,000,000.  Now  to  de- 
clare dividends  on  $80,000,000,  it  became  neces- 
sary to  reduce  the  wages  of  employes.  But  when 
the  employes  struck  it  was  difficult  for  them  to  get 
before  the  public  the  stupendous  iniquity  which  pro- 
voked the  wrong.  The  public  demanded  service 
without  regard  to  wages,  this  demand  strength- 
ened the  corporation,  and  as  a consequence,  when 
the  strike  ended,  the  wrong  existed  as  when 
the  strike  began.  The  strikers  suffered.  The 
corporation  came  off  with  flying  colors.  Final- 
ly the  great  public  condemned  the  corporation,  but 
the  condemnation  resulted  in  no  harm  to  the  cor- 
poration nor  benefit  to  the  wronged  employes. 


216 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  there  will  never  be 
another  telegraph  strike.  On  the  contrary,  the 
probabilities  are  there  will  be  another  strike  one  of 
these  days.  Why  ? Simply  because  the  flagrant 
wrong  exists.  It  has  not  been  removed.  It  has  not 
been  modified.  Wrongs  are  like  cancer.  They  eat  their 
way  to  the  surface.  You  must  remove  the  roots  or 
they  will  come  again;  hence,  we  observe,  that  the 
man  who  discusses  the  wrongs  which  produce 
strikes  is  a better  statesman,  a better  citizen,  and 
more  of  a philanthropist,  than  he  who  is  eternally 
deploring  the  losses  which  strikes  occasion, without 
giving  a thought  to  their  cause. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  men  generally  do  not  re- 
gard successful  revolutions  worth  what  they  cost. 
Strikes  are  revolutions  and  rebellions  combined. 
We  read  and  speak  of  the  American  revolution — 
the  British  call  it  a rebellion.  Rebellion  or  revolu- 
tion, it  was  dear  to  England,  because  she  provoked 
it  and  lost.  It  was  costly  and  bloody  to  the  colo- 
nies, but  they  won,  and  yet  they  were  colonists  who 
were  opposed  to  the  revolution.  They  did  not  be- 
lieve that  the  tea  tax  and  the  stamp  tax  were  of  suf- 
ficient importance  to  warrant  rebellion  and  revolu- 
tion. It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  the  colonies 
would  have  rebelled  because  of  the  amount  of  mon- 
ey involved  in  the  taxation  imposed,  but  the  impo- 
sition of  the  tax  brought  into  prominence  the  insuf- 
ferable wrong  of  taxation  without  representation. 
It  was  taxation  and  chains,  taxation  and  serfdom, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


217 


and  hence  the  colonies  struck  for  freedom  and  in- 
dependence, and  had  they  been  defeated  in  the  war 
of  ’76  they  would  still  have  been  striking  for  the 
recognition  of  their  rights.  It  goes  for  nothing  to 
say  that  strikes  are  always  expensive.  The  fact  is 
universally  admitted,  but  it  is  not  true  that  strikes 
ought  not  to  occur  because  they  are  costly.  * 

There  is  a way  to  prevent  strikes,  as  there  was  a 
way  in  1776  to  have  prevented  the  war  of  the  re- 
volution. Had  England  acted  justly,  there  would 
have  been  no  war,  and  if  employers  would  act  just- 
ly towards  their  employes  there  would  be  fewer 
strikes,  or  strikes  would  forever  disappear  from  the 
industrial  records  of  the  country.  Arbitration,  com- 
promise, reasoning  together,  should  always  precede 
a strike,  but  as  certainly  as  rivers  flow  to  the  sea, 
when  injustice  is  continued  in  spite  of  such  things, 
strikes  will  come,  and  the  more  wide-spread  the  in- 
justice the  more  terrible  will  be  the  consequences  of 
strikes. 

Manifestly,  thinking  men,  who  have  the  welfare 
of  society  at  heart,  are  becoming  profoundly  inter- 
ested in  the  labor  problems  of  the  day.  They  see 
distinctly  that  there  must  be  less  injustice  or  more 
strikes.  If  more  strikes,  then  more  turbulence,  more 
losses,  more  mobs,  more  collisions,  more  blood, 
more  demoralization.  As  a consequence,  congress 
is  discussing  remedies,  and  the  same  is  true  of  leg- 
islatures throughout  the  country;  the  supreme  idea 

being  to  remove  causes  for  strikes,  enthrone  justice 

15 


218 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


and  right  and  overcome  wrong.  We  regard  the 
signs  of  the  times  as  cheering.  We  believe  that 
strikes  in  the  future  will  be  less  frequent,  because 
we  believe  the  working  men  will  see  that  the  great 
public  heart  is  throbbing  responsive  to  their  de- 
mand^ for  justice.  The  press  of  the  country  is 
evincing  deep  solicitude  in  the  welfare  of  working- 
men. The  pulpit  is  taking  a hand  in  the  discussion, 
but  above  all,  and  better  than  all,  workingmen  them- 
selves have  resolved  that  they  will  master  the  pro- 
blems, and  by  logic  and  law,  and  by  the  intelligent 
use  of  the  ballot,  remedy  many  of  the  evils  of  which 
they  justly  complain.” 

GENERAL  MASTER  WORKMAN  POWDERLY 
ON  STRIKES  : 

44  The  prospect  for  the  future  of  the  laboring  man 
in  America,  is  brighter  to  day  than  it  ever  was, 
notwithstanding  the  seemingly  4 strained  rela- 
tions ’ at  present  existing  between  employer  and 
employe. 

4 4 That  we  are  passing  through  an  epidemic  of 
strikes,  lockouts,  and  boycotts,  is  true,  but  the  fact 
must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  were  it  not  for  the 
growing  power  of  organization,  we  should  have  a 
great  many  more  strikes  to  contend  with  than  we 
have  had. 

4 4 The  growth  of  organization  for  the  last  ten  years 
has  been  steady  and  healthy.  It  is  only  where  orga- 
nization is  in  its  infancy,  that  serious  troubles  such 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


219 


as  strikes  and  lockouts  exist.  The  causes  from 
which  strikes  and  lockouts  spring,  are  to  be  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  but  the  methods  of  dealing 
with  the  troubles  as  they  arise  are  different.  In  places 
where  no  organizations  of  labor  exist,  or  where  the 
seeds  of  organization  have  just  been  planted,  dis- 
puting parties  are  apt  to  become  involved  in  strikes. 
The  reasons  advanced  in  support  of  that  proposition 
are  as  follows:  Until  recently  very  few  working- 
men dared  to  express  their  opinion  in  public  on  the 
subject  of  labor,  for  the  reason  that  they  were  al- 
most certain  of  an  immediate  dismissal  from  the  ser- 
vice of  the  man  or  company  they  worked  for,  if  it 
became  known  that  they  in  any  way  favored  the 
association  of  workingmen  for  mutual  protec- 
tion. 

“With  such  a sentiment  existing  m the  breasts  of 
workingmen,  they  could  not  be  expected  to  feel  very 
kindly  toward  the  employer,  who  so  jealously 
watched  their  every  movement,  and  who,  by  his 
actions,  made  them  feel  that  they  were  regarded 
rather  as  serfs  than  freemen.  While  the  real  bone 
and  sinew  of  the  land  remained  in  enforced  silence,  ex- 
cept where  it  could  be  heard  through  the  medium  of 
the  press  and  rostrum,  through  chosen  leaders,  anoth- 
er class  of  men  who  seldom  worked,  would  insist 
on  ‘representing  labor,’  and  in  making  glowing 
speeches  on  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  man,  would 
urge  the  ‘ abolition  of  property’  or  the  ‘ equal  divis- 
ion of  wealth;’  such  speakers  very  often  suggest- 


220 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ing  that  a good  thing  to  do  would  be  to  ‘ hang  cap- 
italists to  lamp-posts.’ 

“The  employer  of  labor  who  listened  to  such 
speeches,  felt  that  in  suppressing  organization  among 
his  workmen  he  was  performing  a laudable  act.  Y et 
he  was,  by  that  means,  proving  himself  to  be  the 
most  powerful  ally  the  anarchist  could  wish  for. 
He  caused  his  employes  to  feel  that  he  took  no  in- 
terest in  them,  other  than  to  get  as  many  hours  of 
toil  out  of  them  for  as  few  shillings  as  possible. 
The  consequence  was  that  the  employer,  who  was 
himself  responsible  for  the  smothering  of  the  hon- 
est expression  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  labor,  be- 
came possessed  of  the  idea  that  the  raw-head  and 
bloody-bones  curbstone  orator  was  the  real  repre- 
sentative of  labor,  and  determined  to  exercise  more 
vigilance  and  precaution  than  ever  in  keeping  his 
‘ help  ’ out  of  the  labor  society. 

“ The  speaker  who  hinted  at,  or  advocated,  the 
destruction  of  property  or  the  hanging  of  capi- 
talists to  lamp-posts,  was  shrewd  enough  to  speak 
very  kindly  and  in  a knowing  manner  of  labor  as- 
sociations, giving  out  the  impression  that  he  held 
membership  in  one  or  more  of  them.  Workingmen, 
who  were  denied  the  right  to  organize,  very  fre- 
quently went  to  hear  Mr.  Scientific  lecture  on  the 
best  means  of  handling  dynamite.  And  when  the 
speaker  portrayed  the  wrongs  of  labor,  the  thought' 
ful  workman  could  readily  trace  a resemblance  be- 


BETWEEN  STRIKE  AND  FAMILY. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  223 

tween  the  employer  painted  by  the  lecturer  and  the 
man  he  himself  worked  for. 

“ Workmen  employed  by  those  who  frowned  on 
labor  organizations  became  sullen  and  morose;  they 
saw  in  every  action  of  the  superintendent  another 
innovation  on  their  rights,  and  they  finally  deter-, 
mined  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  oppression,  organize, 
and  assert  their  manhood.  The  actions  of  the  su- 
perintendent, or  boss,  very  often  tended  to  widen 
the  breach  between  employer  and  employe.  When 
the  organization  did  come,  it  found  a very  bitter 
feeling  existing  on  both  sides,  and,  before  studying 
the  laws  of  the  society,  they  joined,  or  becoming 
conversant  with  its  rules  or  regulations  regarding 
the  settlement  of  disputes  or  grievances,  the  work- 
men determined  to  wipe  out  of  existence  the  whole 
system  of  petty  tyrannies  that  had  been  practiced 
on  them  for  years.  Not  being  drilled  in  organiza- 
tion, and  feeling  that  the  employer  would  not  treat 
with  them,  the  only  remedy  suggesting  itself  was 
the  strike.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  employer, 
who  felt  that  every  move  of  his  workmen  in  organ- 
ization would  be  directed  against  his  interests,  de- 
termined to  take  time  by  the  forelock  and  turn 
them  all  out  on  the  street.  Thus  we  find  the  or- 
ganization in  its  infancy  face  to  face  with  a strike 
or  lockout. 

“ Absorbed  in  the  task  of  getting  large  dividends, 
the  employer  seldom  inquired  of  his  superintendent 
how  he  managed  the  business  intrusted  to  his  keep- 


224 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ing,  or  how  he  treated  the  employes.  In  thousands 
of  places  throughout  the  United  States,  many  super- 
intendents, foremen,  or  petty  bosses,  are  interested 
in  stores,  corner  groceries,  or  saloons.  In  many 
places  the  employe  is  told  plainly  that  he  must  deal 
at  the  store,  or  get  his  liquor  from  the  saloon  in 
which  his  boss  has  an  interest;  mothers,  he  is  given 
to  understand  that  he  must  deai  in  these  stores  or 
saloons,  or  forfeit  his  situation.  Laws  have  been 
passed  in  some  states  against  the  keeping  of  com- 
pany stores,  but  the  stores  are  kept  nevertheless, 
and  workmen  are  made  to  feel  that  they  must  pa- 
tronize them. 

u In  many  cases,  the  owners  of  mills,  factories  or 
mines  are  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  such  insti- 
tutions as  the  ‘pluck  me’ — the  name  applied  to  the 
company  store — but  they  stand  so  far  away  from 
their  employes  that  they  cannot  hear  the  murmur  of 
complaint,  and  if  a whisper  of  it  ever  does  reach 
their  ears  it  comes  through  the  boss,  who  is  not  on- 
ly interested  in  the  store,  but  in  keeping  its  existence 
a secret  from  his  employer.  The  keeping  of  such 
stores  is  another  source  of  injustice  to  workmen,  for 
their  existence  tends  to  widen  the  breach  between 
employer  and  employe.  It  may  seem  that  I 
am  dealing  with  insignificant  things,  but  when 
the  statement  is  made  that  seven  out  of  every 
ten  superintendents,  or  bosses,  are  interested  in  the 
management  and  derive  profits  from  the  opera- 
tion of  stores,  which  employes  are  forced  to  pa- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  225 

tronize,  I make  an  assertion  which  can  be  prov- 
ed. 

“ In  a country  where  every  man,  however  hum- 
ble, is  taught  from  his  infancy  that  he  stands  the 
equal  of  all  other  men,  it  is  but  natural  for  a citizen 
who  is  given-  to  understand  that  he  must  patronize 
a certain  store,  or  that  he  cannot  join  a certain  soci- 
ety, to  feel  restive,  and,  where  so  much  is  promised 
and  so  little  obtained,  men  are  apt  to  lose  faith  in  a 
law-making  system  which  obliges  the  workman  him- 
self to  become  complainant  and  prosecutor  in  cases 
where  the  laws  are  violated  to  his  detriment.  If  he 
prosecutes  he  is  discharged.  If  he  does  not  prose- 
cute for  infractions  of  law,  but  simply  complains, 
he  is  told  to  invoke  the  majesty  of  the  law  in  his 
own  behalf.  In  this  way  the  law  is  disregarded;  it 
becomes  a dead  letter;  men  lose  hope  in  law  and 
law-makers. 

“ The  constant  itching  and  irritation  caused  by 
the  indifference  of  the  employer  to  their  welfare, 
and  the  injustice  practiced  on  them  by  petty  bosses, 
go  on  until  the  men  feel  that  the  only  remedy 
is  through  the  strike.  In  this  way  the  men  who 
belong  to  no  organization  are  launched  into 
strikes. 

“Workingmen  are  not,  as  a rule,  educated  men. 
When  the  strike  does  come,  while  they  feel  that  they 
have  been  wronged,  yet  they  are  lacking  in  the 
command  of  language  necessary  to  state  their  case 
properly  to  the  world,  and  hence  set  forth  their 


226 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


claims  in  such  a way  as  to  arouse  prejudices  or  ere- 
ate  false  impressions.  The  other  side  having  the 
advantage  of  education,  either  personally  or  by  right 
of  purchase,  can  and  does  mold  public  opinion  in  a 
great  many  cases. 

“I  have  pointed  out  one  or  two  of  the  little 
things  which  cause  a great  deal  of  uneasiness  and 
vexation  to  workingmen;  others  have  pointed  out 
the  root  of  the  evil.  The  workingman  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  will  soon  realize  that  he  possesses  the 
power  which  kings  once  held — that  he  has  the  right 
to  manage  his  own  affairs.  The  power  of  the 
king  has  passed  away.  The  power  of  wealth  is 
passing  away.  The  evening  shadows  are  closing 
in  upon  the  day  when  immense  private  fortunes  can 
be  acquired.  The  new  power  dawning  upon  the 
world  is  that  of  the  workingman  to  rule  his  own 
destinies.  That  power  can  no  longer  be  kept  from 
him.  How  will  he  wield  it  ? 

“This  question  is  of  great  concern  not  only  to 
the  workingman  but  to  every  citizen  of  the  republic, 
^nd  the  hand  of  every  citizen  who  loves  his  country 
should  be  extended  to  assist  the  new  ruler.  I have 
no  fears  because  of  the  present  apparently  disturbed 
condition  of  the  labor  world;  on  the  contrary,  the 
signs  are  very  hopeful.  Wendell  Phillips  once 
said  : « Never  look  for  an  age  when  the  people 

can  be  quiet  and  safe.  At  such  times  Despotism, 
like  a shrouding  mist,  steals  over  the  mirror  of  Free- 
dom.’ 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


227 


“The  people  are  not  quiet  to-day,  but  they  are 
safe.  It  is  the  power  of  monopoly  that  is  not  safe. 
The  men  who  pile  up  large  fortunes  must  coim 
pensate  for  that  privilege  in  the  payment  of  a 
graduated  income  tax.  The  blessings  which  thej 
derive  from  wealth  must  be  shared  by  the  nation 
from  which  they  extract  that  wealth.” 


228 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


EIGHT  HOURS. 

EFFECT  OF  THE  EIGHT  HOUR  AGITATION — NUMBER  OF 

MEN  IN  THE  MOVEMENT  IN  1886  THE  BENEFITS 

CLAIMED LABOR  NOT  A COMMODITY A BIRDS-EYE 

VIEW  OF  THE  WORKING  WORLD THE  AGENTS  OF 

CORPORATIONS — -EXACTIONS  ARE  FETTERS APPEALS 

AND  MUTTERED  DISCONTENT A GREAT  PLEA THIRST 

FOR  KNOWLEDGE  SHOULD  BE  GRATIFIED ROBERT  G. 

TNGERSOLL’S  ELOQUENT  WORDS  ON  THE  SUBJECT 

HOURS  OF  LABOR  SHOULD  BE  SHORTENED. 

The  agitation  for  the  reduction  in  the  hours  of  la- 
bor was  extremely  active  after  the  close  of  the  war  of 
the  rebellion.  V arious  conventions  were  held,  demon- 
strations were  made,  and  much  discussion  was  had. 
Three  classes  of  employers  were  created  by  the 
movement:  Those  who  favored  eight  hours  a day, 
and  eight  hours  pay;  Those  who  opposed  reduction 
of  either  hours  or  pay,  and  those  who  were  willing 
to  concede  ten  hours  pay  for  lessened  time. 

The  men  generally  failed  to  secure  what  they 
sought. 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


229 


The  history  of  1867  has  been  repeated  in  re- 
cent efforts  in  the  same  direction,  yet  considerable 
gain  is  reported  at  various  points.  It  is  cal- 
culated that  about  450,000  men  participated  in  the 
eight-hour  demand  in  1886,  of  whom  185,000  were 
granted  shorter  hours.  Strikes  continued  during  the 
months  of  May  and  June, with  a total  loss  in  wages 
of  $2,802,000,  and  a stoppage  in  new  business  to 
the  amount  of  the  enormous  sum  of  $24,800,000. 
Both  employers  and  workmen  find  the  eight-hour 
system  to  be  impracticable  in  certain  lines  of  bu^ 
ness,  while  in  others,  it  is  a most  gratifying  success. 

The  chief  benefits  claimed  for  the  eight-hour 
movement  are:  1.  Employment  for  all.  2.  Steady 
employment.  3.  Better  wages.  4.  Belief  from  anx- 
iety and  poverty.  5.  Time  for  improvement,  re- 
creation, and  home  enjoyment. 

“Labor  is  not  a mere  commodity  or  exclusive  in- 
dividual property,”  is  the  language  of  a reformer  on 
this  question.  “It  is  human  life  and  skill  exerted  to 
sustain  human  society  through  mutual  exchange  of 
works  and  services  by  means  of  money-wages.  The 
application  of  physical  forces  in  aid  of  human  hands 
vastly  increases  production  and  the  facilities  of 
transportation,  while  the  application  of  moral  forces 
to  the  relations  of  employers  and  employes  tends  to 
distribute  the  beneficial  results  of  civilized  indus- 
tries among  the  whole  people  through  high  wages, 
cheap  goods  and  service.  The  national  com- 
bination of  working  people’s  organizations  enforces 


230 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOB. 


a rise  in  wages  and  a fall  in  profits,  tending  to 
equalize  the  standard  of  average  living  among  the 
masses.  The  first  cost  of  manufacture  and  trans- 
portation is  getting  minimized  by  the  progress  of 
discovery  and  invention,  but  the  retail  price  paid 
for  small  distribution  is  yet  very  high,  except  in  a 
few  governmental  services  of  water -works,  post- 
offices,  etc.  The  wasteful  system  of  retail  trade 
greatly  enhances  the  cost  of  living  and  withdraws 
large  numbers  of  able-bodied  persons  from  produc- 
t#e  labor. 

4 4 The  average  term  of  employment  for  all  work- 
ing people  is  not  over  nine  months  during  the  year, 
so  that  there  is  always  a certain  per  centage  of  com- 
pulsory idleness.  High  wages  for  efficient  work  is 
comtemporaneous  with  cheap  goods;  a spinner  on 
the  hand  wheel  with  one  spindle  can  turn  off  three 
pounds  of  Ho.  10  cloth  yarn  in  a week,  a mule- 
spinner  about  three  hundred  pounds;  a hand-loom 
weaver  can  weave  fifty  yards  of  common  shirting 
a week,  and  the  product  of  the  power-looms  which 
the  weaver  in  a factory  would  attend  to  is  1,500 
yards.  Therefore,  wages  of  the  working  people 
rise  with  the  concentration  of  labor  in  great  estab- 
lishments, while  the  cost  price  of  goods  and  ser- 
vices fall  in  proportion  to  the  enlargement  of  or- 
ganized labor  in  the  processes  of  the  manufacture. 
To  enforce  such  general  distribution  of  the  benefits 
working  in  society,  and  by  the  best  approved  com- 
binations of  capital  and  labor,  is  the  aim  of  organ- 


^ailfSjS 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


233 


ized  labor  in  all  the  contentions  throughout  civilized 
communities. 

“ Fifty  out  of  500  trades  and  occupations  are  or- 
ganized, and  have  established  their  own  daily  wages. 
Many  trades  have  been  under  paid,  while  the  aris- 
tocracy of  organized  skilled  labor  has  succeeded  in 
grabbing  $3  to  $5  a day  by  keeping  competition 
down  to  a minimum  by  restricting  the  number  of 
apprentices.  Human  working  time  is  the  measure 
of  wages.  Piece-work  is  usually  paid  at  a rate 
which  takes  into  account  how  much  the  worker 
should  earn  during  the  whole  working  day  on  a cer- 
tain kind  of  work.  By  means  of  minute  subdivis- 
ion of  labor,  and  the  employment  of  so-called  help- 
ers— men,  women,  and  children — the  number  of 
skilled  mechanics  and  artisans  has  been  minimized 
in  the  mammoth  manufacturing  establishments. 
This  great  mass  of  under  paid  working  people  is  re- 
inforced by  a class  of  small  farmers,  and  by  large 
numbers  of  the  middle  class  of  business  men,  who 
are  driven  into  bankruptcy  by  the  competition  of 
large  farming  enterprises,  or  by  the  cheapness  of 
work  in  the  great  manufactories  and  large  retail 
establishments. 

“The  old  industrial  system  of  a well-defined 
subdivision  into  about  fifty  standard  trades  and  oc- 
cupations, has  entirely  outlived  its  usefulness,  and 
the  working  people  are  rising  in  their  might  to  re- 
arrange a mode  of  living  wages  for  all.  Labor  is 
only  a small  proportion  of  the  first  cost  of  an  arti- 


234 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


cle,  and  its  wages  are  paid  by  the  whole  people  as 
final  consumers  of  goods,  and  therefore  an  attempt 
for  a general  rise  of  wages  for  common  labor  need 
not  raise  the  retail  price  of  goods  and  services  to 
any  appreciable  extent.  But  interest,  rent,  profit, 
and  unnecessary  expenses  will  have  to  be  curtailed 
and  wasteful  styles  of  business  abolished.  The 
newspapers  which  sold  for  five  cents  are  being  grad- 
ually supplanted  by  papers  which  sell  for  one  and 
two  cents,  without  any  reduction  in  wages  of  com- 
positors, reporters,  editorial  writers,  or  correspond- 
ents. "When  the  trackmen,  freight  handlers,  and 
other  low-paid  employes  struck  on  Jay  Gould’s 
railroad  system,  all  well  paid  employes  were  reduced 
to  compulsory  idleness,  and  the  public  suffered 
great  losses  as  a penalty  for  allowing  the  system  of 
starvation  wages  to  exist. 

Wages  must  be  leveled  up  and  profits,  in- 
terest, rent,  and  taxes  leveled  down.  High  rents 
are  paid  out  of  the  proceeds  of  overworked 
and  under  paid  employes  as,  for  instance,  the  rents 
paid  for  mammoth  dry  goods  and  certain  clothing 
stores,  where  male  and  female  employes  are  paid  such 
small  pittances  that  they  depend  upon  their  parents 
to  make  up  the  deficits  in  their  standard  of  living. 
The  owners  of  business  blocks  in  central  locations 
get  these  enormous  rents  owing  to  the  competition 
of  merchants,  who  bid  against  each  other  for  the 
small  area  of  the  business  center.  Extortionate 
renjts  mean  starvation  wages  for  cashboys,  cash- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


235 


girls,  salesladies,  clerks,  bookkeepers,  and  other 
help  in  wholesale  and  retail  stores.  In  fact,  the 
army  of  working  people  employed  in  distribution 
is  outrageously  overworked  and  under  paid  for  the 
benefit  of  a comparatively  small  number  of  mer- 
chant princes  and  store,  keepers.” 

Between  the  men  who  pay  the  wages  and  the 
millions  who  receive  them,  there  is  not  a proper  re- 
cognition of  the  common  ties  of  humanity.  It  is 
noticeable  that  when  a man  is  placed  in  control  of 
others,  he  soon  learns  to  disregard  their  inter- 
ests and  personal  feelings.  We  see  incorporations 
extinction  of  sympathy  for  its  employes,  and  the 
term  “soulless  corporation,”  is  justly  put.  Through 
the  superintendents,  managers,  presidents  and  direct- 
ors, the  workingman  may  appeal,  but  he  never 
reaches  any  one  but  an  agent.  There  is  no  one  per- 
sonally responsible  to  whom  he  may  apply  for  the 
relief  of  a grievance. 

Every  man  who  acts  as  an  agent  feels  it  to  be 
his  duty  to  demand  and  exact  strict  service  from 
those  under  him,  but  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  make 
concessions.  It  is  not  strange  that  workingmen 
are  restive  under  this  kind  of  supervision.  They 
never  come  in  contact  with  the  power  that  can  rem- 
edy their  troubles,  and  show  indulgence  to  their 
wants  as  men.  An  agent  listens  to  their  complaints 
with  impatience,  and  often  discharges  them  if  they 
betray  discontent. 

The  workingmen  of  to-day  feel  it  their  right  to 


236 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


have  more  time  to  themselves.  The  strict  exactions 
of  corporations  and  agents  have  become  fetters 
which  chafe  and  irritate.  Appeals  and  muttered  dis- 
content have  availed  nothing,  and  the  result  has 
been  a general  demand  and  uprising  for  shorter 
hours. 

The  greatest  plea  the  workingman  has  for  more 
time  away  from  the  shop,  factory  and  bench  is,  that 
he  seeks  mental  culture.  No  one  can  deny  that 
thirst  for  knowledge  is  a most  laudable  craving,  and 
it  is  one  which  should  be  gratified  whenever  demand- 
ed. Ignorance  never  increased  the  product  of  a 
nation.  As  a matter  of  right  he  is  entitled  to 
education,  if  he  creates  the  wealth  of  the  na- 
tion. 

“ Why  should  labor,”  says  Robert  G.  Ingersoll, 
“fill  the  world  with  wealth  and  live  in  want?  Ev- 
ery labor-saving  machine  should  help  the  whole 
world.  Every  one  should  tend  to  shorten  the  hours 
of  labor.  Reasonable  labor  is  a source  of  joy.  To 
work  for  wife  and  child,  to  toil  for  those  you  love 
is  happiness,  provided  you  can  make  them  happy. 
But  to  work  like  a slave — to  see  your  wife  and  chil- 
dren in  rags — to  sit  at  a table  where  food  is  coarse 
and  scarce — rise  at  four  in  the  morning — to  work 
all  day  and  throw  your  tired  bones  upon  a miserable 
bed  at  night — to  live  without  leisure,  without  rest, 
without  making  those  you  love  comfortable  and  hap- 
py— this  is  not  living — it  is  dying — a slow,  linger- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


237 


ing,  crucifixion.  The  hours  of  labor  should  be  short- 
ened. With  the  vast  and  wonderful  improvements 
of  the  nineteenth  century  there  should  be  not  only 
the  necessaries  of  life  for  those  who  toil,  but  com- 
forts and  luxuries  as  well.” 


238 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


ARBITRATION. 

ARBITRATION  NOT  AN  EXPERIMENT THE  JUSTINIAN  LAW 

ENGLISH  AND  ROMAN  LAW JUDICIAL  BOARDS  OF 

ARBITRATION PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND’S  MESSAGE  ON 

THE  QUESTION RICHARD  GRIFFITHS,  G.  W.  F.,  ON 

ARBITRATION GEORGE  RODGERS  FRENCH  COURTS' 

OF  ARBITRATION  HOW  THE  GREAT  BRICKLAYERS 

STRIKE  IN  CHICAGO  WAS  SETTLED JUDGE  TULEy’s 

DECISION— ARBITRATION  JUST  FOR  EMPLOYER  AND 
WORKINGMEN THE  SCALES  OF  JUSTICE  A TRUE  BAL- 

ANCE. 

There  is  nothing  new  or  experimental  in  the  idea 
of  adjusting  differences  by  arbitration.  The  old 
Justinian  law  contains  a detailed  system  for  this 
method  of  settling  disputes,  the  chief  idea  of  which 
is  the  promptness  and  certainty  of  the  settlement. 
The  general  derangement  and  injury  to  business  is 
always  a great  evil  attendant  upon  strikes  and  sim- 
ilar troubles.  All  of  the  European  nations  have 
adopted  the  practice  of  the  principles  found  in  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


239 


eighth  section  of  the  IV  Pandects,  and  even  Eng- 
land over  rides  the  common  law  in  her  prefer- 
ence for  the  Roman  system. 

Various  propositions  have  been  made  to  establish 
judicial  Boards,  or  Courts  of  Arbitration,  for  the 
settlement  of  the  differences  which  continually 
arise  between  employers  and  employes,  some  of 
which  are  feasible  and  some  are  vagaries  of  illusion- 
ists. President  Cleveland,  prompted  by  the  pres- 
sure of  the  great  question  of  the  workingman’s  con- 
dition, sent  the  following  message  to  congress: 

“To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 
The  constitution  imposes  on  the  president  the  duty 
of  recommending  to  the  consideration  of  congress, 
from  time  to  time,  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge 
necessary  and  expedient.  I am  so  deeply  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  immediately  and  thoughtfully 
meeting  the  problem  which  recent  events  and  a 
present  condition  have  thrust  upon  us,  involving  the 
settlement  of  disputes  arising  between  our  laboring 
men  and  their  employers,  that  I am  constrained  -to 
recommend  to  congress  legislation  upon  this  se- 
rious and  pressing  subject. 

Under  our  form  of  government,  the  value  of  la- 
bor as  an  element  of  national  prosperity  should  be 
distinctly  recognized,  and  the  welfare  of  the  labor- 
ing man  should  be  regarded  as  especially  entitled 
to  legislative  care.  In  a country  which  offers  to  all 
its  citizens  the  highest  attainment  of  social  and  po- 
litical distinction,  its  workingmen  cannot  justly  or 


240 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


safely  be*  considered  as  irrevocably  consigned  to 
the  limits  of  a class,  and  entitled  to  no  attention,  and 
allowed  no  protest  against  neglect. 

The  laboring  man,  bearing  in  his  hand  an  indis- 
pensable contribution  to  our  growth  and  progress, 
may  well  insist,  with  manly  courage  and  as  a right, 
upon  ythe  same  recognition  from  those  who  make 
our  laws,  as  is  accorded  to  any  other  citizen  having 
a valuable  interest  in  charge;  and  his  reasonable  de- 
mand should  be  met  in  such  a spirit  of  appreciation 
and  fairness,  as  to  induce  a contented  and  patriotic 
co-operation  in  the  achievement  of  a grand  national 
destiny. 

While  the  real  interests  of  labor  are  not  promot- 
ed by  a resort  to  threats  and  violent  manifestations, 
and  while  those  who,  under  the  pretext  of  an  advo- 
cacy of  the  claims  of  labor,  wantonly  attack  the 
rights  of  capital,  and  for  selfish  purposes  or  the  love 
of  disorder  sow  seeds  of  violence  and  discontent, 
should  neither  be  encouraged  nor  conciliated,  all 
legislation  on  the  subject  should  be  calmly  and  de- 
liberately undertaken  with  no  purpose  of  satisfying 
unreasonable  demands  or  gaining  partisan  advan- 
tage. 

The  present  condition  of  the  relations  between 
labor  and  capital  are  far  from  satisfactory.  The 
discontent  of  the  employed  is  due  in  a large  degree 
to  the  grasping  and  heedless  exactions  of  employ- 
ers and  the  alleged  discriminations  in  favor  of  cap- 
ital as  an  object  of  governmental  attention.  It  must 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


241 


a]so  be  conceded  that  laboring  men  are  not  always 
careful  to  avoid  causeless  and  unjustifiable  disturb- 
ances. Though  the  importance  of  a better  ac- 
cord between  these  interests  is  apparent,  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  any  effort  in  that  direction  by 
the  federal  government  must  be  greatly  limited  by 
constitutional  restrictions.  There  are  many  grievan- 
ces which  legislation  by  congress  cannot  redress 
and  many  conditions  which  cannot  by  such  means 
be  reformed. 

I am  satisfied,  however,  that  something  may  be 
done  under  federal  authority  to  prevent  the  disturb- 
ances which  so  often  arise  by  disputes  between 
employer  and  employed,  and  which  at  times 
seriously  threaten  the  business  interests  of  the 
country;  and,  in  my  opinion,  the  proper  theory 
on  which  to  proceed  is  that  of  voluntary  arbitration 
as  the  means  of  settling  these  difficulties.  But  I sug- 
gest that,  instead  of  arbitrators  chosen  in  the  heat 
of  conflicting  claims  and  after  each  dispute  shall 
arise,  there  be  created  a commission  of  labor 
consisting  of  three  members,  who  shall  be  regular 
officers  of  the  government,  charged,  among  other 
duties,  with  the  consideration  and  settlement,  when 
possible,  of  all  controversies  between  labor  and 
capital. 

A commission  thus  organized  would  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  a stable  body,  and  its  members, 
as  they  gained  experience,  would  constantly  im- 
prove in  their  ability  to  deal  intelligently  and  use- 


242 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


fully  with  questions  which  might  be  submitted  to 
them.  If  arbitrators  are  chosen  for  temporary  ser- 
vice as  each  case  of  dispute  arises,  experience  and 
familiarity  with  much  that  is  involved  in  the  ques- 
tion will  be  lacking;  extreme  partisanship  and  bias 
will  be  the  qualifications  sought  on  either  side,  and 
frequent  complaints  of  unfairness  and  partiality 
will  be  inevitable. 

The  imposition  upon  a federal  court  of  a duty 
foreign  to  the  judicial  function,  as  the  selection  of 
an  arbitrator  in  such  cases,  is  at  least  of  doubtful 
propriety.  The  establishment  by  federal  authority 
of  such  a bureau  would  be  a just  and  sensible  re- 
cognition of  the  value  of  labor  and  of  its  right  to 
be  represented  in  the  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment. So  far  as  its  conciliatory  offices  shall  have 
relation  to  disturbances  which  interfered  with  tran- 
sit and  commerce  between  the  states,  its  existence 
would  be  justified  under  the  provisions  of  the  con- 
stitution which  give  to  congress  the  power  to  regu- 
late commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the 
several  states.  And  in  the  frequent  disputes  be- 
tween the  laboring  men  and  their  employers  of  less 
extent,  and  the  consequences  of  which  are  confined 
within  state  limits,  and  threaten  domestic  violence, 
the  interposition  of  such  a commission  might  be 
tendered  upon  the  application  of  the  legislature  or 
executive  of  a state,  under  the  constitutional  pro- 
vision which  requires  the  general  government  to 
protect  each  of  the  states  against  domestic  violence. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


243 


If  such  a commission  were  fairly  organized,  the 
risk  of  a loss  of  popular  support  and  sympathy  re- 
sulting from  a refusal  to  submit  to  so  peaceful  an 
instrumentality,  would  constrain  both  parties  to  such 
disputes  to  invoke  its  interference,  and  abide  by  its 
decisions.  There  would  also  be  good  reason  to 
hope  that  the  very  existence  of  such  an  agency 
would  invite  application  to  it  for  advice  and  coun- 
sel, frequently  resulting  in  the  avoidance  of  con- 
tention and  misunderstanding.  If  the  usefulness 
of  such  a commission  is  doubtful,  because  it  might 
lack  power  to  enforce  its  decisions,  much  en- 
couragement is  derived  from  the  conceded  good  that 
has  been  accomplished  by  the  railroad  commissions 
which  have  been  organized  in  many  of  the  states, 
which  have  little  more  than  advisory  power,  have 
exerted  a most  salutary  influence  in  the  settlement 
of  disputes  between  conflicting  interests. 

In  July,  1884,  by  a law  of  congress,  a bureau  of 
labor  was  established  and  placed  in  charge  of  a 
commissioner  of  labor,  who  is  required  to  collect 
information  upon  the  subject  of  labor,  its  relations 
with  capital,  the  hours  of  labor  and  the  earnings 
of  laboring  men  and  women,  and  the  means  of 
promoting  their  material,  social,  intellectual,  and 
moral  prosperity.  The  commission  which  I sug- 
gest could  easily  be  engrafted  upon  the  bureau  thus 
already  organized  by  the  addition  of  two  more  com- 
missioners, and  by  supplementing  the  duties  now 
imposed  upon  it  by  such  other  powers  and  func- 


244 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


tions  as  would  permit  the  commissioners  to  act  as 
arbitrators  when  necessary  between  labor  and  cap- 
ital, under  such  limitations  and  upon  such  occa- 
sions as  should  be  deemed  proper  and  useful.  Pow- 
er should  also  be  distinctly  conferred  upon  this 
bureau  to  investigate  the  causes  of  all  disputes  as 
they  occur,  whether  submitted  for  arbitration  or 
not,  so  that  information  may  always  be  at  hand  to 
aid  legislation  on  the  subject  when  necessary  and 
desirable. 

Grover  Cleveland. 

Executive  Mansion,  April  22, 1886. 

Although  there  is  much  antagonism  existing 
between  the  workingmen  and  their  employers,  both 
concede  the  advisability  of  mutually  agreeing  upon 
some  just  method  for  settlement.  Voluntary  arbi- 
tration is  generally  held  to  be  a most  useful  and 
equitable  course  to  pursue,  but  as  cases  constantly 
arise  wherein  there  is  much  ill  feeling,  this  method 
is  beyond  question,  and  recourse  to  a special  tribu- 
nal seems  the  only  way  to  reach  a definite  and  bind- 
ing settlement. 

In  reply  to  a letter  of  inquiry  upon  this  topic, 
General  Worthy  Foreman  Richard  Griffiths,  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  writes:  “Lam  an  advocate  of 

and  a firm  believer  in  arbitration.  Peace  between 
capital  and  labor  will  be  intermittent  until  the  two 
are  impelled,  by  self-interest,  public  sentiment, 
or  public  law,  to  meet  each  other  in  a spirit 


BRICKLAYING* 


■ 


THE  VOICE  OE  LABOR. 


247 


of  mutual  respect  and  forbearance,  and  sub- 
mit their  disputes  to  the  decision  of  impartial  tribu- 
nals. The  Knights  of  Labor  are  the  evangels  of 
this  new  gospel  of  good  will.  The  twenty-second 
plank  of  their  preamble  and  declaration  of  princi- 
ples is  as  follows: 

‘To  persuade  employers  to  agree  to  arbitrate  all 
differences  which  may  arise  between  them  and  their 
employes,  in  order  that  the  bonds  of  sympathy  be- 
tween them  may  be  strengthened,  and  that  strikes 
may  be  rendered  unnecessary.’ 

“I  can  assure  you  that  the  practices  of  the  Knights 
are  in  harmony  with  their  theories.  In  proof  of 
this  I would  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in 
the  territory  embraced  in  district  assembly  No.  30 
— the  manufacturing  sections  of  Massachusetts — 
over  one  hundred  disputes  were  settled  by  arbitra- 
tion in  the  twelve  months  between  January,  1885, 
and  January,  1886.  In  not  one  instance  that 
arbitration  was  resorted  to  did  it  prove  abor- 
tive. 

“At  first,  manufacturers  objected  strenuously  to 
submitting  to  arbitration.  Not  a few  resented  the 
intimation  that  there  was  anything  to  arbitrate  as 
an  insolent  and  unwarranted  interference  with  their 
prerogative.  But  the  great  majority  of  the  employ- 
ers in  the  old  Bay  state  now  admit,  without  reluct- 
ance, that  their  employes  are  entitled  to  opinions 
regarding  their  own  wages  and  conditions  of  em- 
ployment, and  many  of  them  eagerly  avail  them- 


248 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


selves  of  the  new  and  enlightened  system  of  settling 
industrial  disputes. 

“The  Knights  of  Labor  favor  the  establishment  of 
national  and  state  courts  of  arbitration.  Acting  by 
authority  of  and  under  instructions  from  the  general 
assembly,  a committee  composed  of  several  of  the 
brightest  members  of  our  order  are  now  in  Wash- 
ington, laboring  for  the  creation  of  such  courts.  I 
am  advised  that  there  are  grounds  for  hoping  that 
their  efforts  will  prove  successful.  When  the  legis- 
latures of  the  several  states  meet,  this  same  matter 
will  be  pressed  upon  their  attention. 

“Arbitration,  in  my  judgment,  should  be  advocated 
by  all  thinking  people;  there  is  a crying  need  of  it. 
But  workingmen,  especially,  should  bear  in  mind 
that,  after  all,  arbitration  is  only  the  cap-stone  of 
the  edifice,  that  education  and  organization  must 
precede,  or  least  go  hand  in  hand  with  it.  Unless 
mechanics  are  thoroughly  organized  many  employers 
might,  as  of  old,  decline  to  treat  with  them.  While 
workingmen  should  always  favor  peace — should 
never  strike  until  all  other  means  of  obtaining 
redress  had  failed  — it  is  a duty  which  they 
owe  to  themselves  to  be  prepared  for  emergen- 
cies. 

“I  am  glad  to  observe  that  decent  newspapers  are 
taking  an  interest  in  this  great  question.  The  press 
can  do  more  than  any  other  single  agency  toward 
harmonizing  the  clashing  claims  of  capital  and  labor. 
The  day  was  when  workingmen  were  set  down  as  in 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  240 

the  wrong  in  all  disputes,  and  employers  ever  in  the 
right — when  reports  were  doctored,  and  editorial 
opinions  made  to  order.  But  times  are  changingfor 
the  better,  and  I thank  God  for  it. 

“ Please  set  me  down  as  heartily  in  favor  of  arbi- 
tration.” 

Mr.  George  Rodgers  expresses  a similar  opinion 
in  the  following  words  : “I  consider  arbitration  to 
be  one  of  the  most  important  matters  of  the  day. 
Thinking,  being  my  forte,  I usually  leave  the  writing 
to  others.  However,  I am  a thorough  believer  in 
arbitration,  and  hold  the  same  views  on  this  method 
for  the  settlement  of  disputes  in  the  industrial  world 
that  are  held  and  practiced  whenever  possible  by 
the  entire  organization  of  the  Knights  of  Labor. 
The  constitution  and  laws  of  the  Knights  of  Labor 
expressly  direct  that  all  disputes  shall  be  submitted 
to  arbitration  when  the  employer  consents.  Em- 
ployes, who  are  Knights  of  Labor,  are  thus  compell- 
ed to  submit  to  arbitration;  but  there  is  at  present 
no  law  to  compel  employers  to  do  likewise.  This  is 
not  so  in  other  countries. 

“Compulsory  submission  to  arbitration  is  provided 
for  in  some  parts  of  France.  An  examination  of  the 
consular  reports  made  to  the  state  department  in 
1884,  will  show  that  the  law  of  arbitration  is  grow- 
ing in  the  various  countries  of  Europe,  and  that  its 
growth  there  can  be  measured  by  the  intelligence  of 
the  people. 

“The  fact  that  no  courts  of  arbitration  yet  exist  in 

17 


250 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


America,  is  no  argument  against  them;  for  it  is 
well  known  that  all  reforms  are  in  advance  of  the 
law.  Agitation  always  precedes  remedial  legislation. 
These  courts  will  take  labor  disputes  from  antago- 
nists to  impartial  juries. 

“,The*  people,  in  my  judgment,  understand  that 
bullets  and  clubs  are  poor  arguments — very  much 
inferior  to  cool  reasoning  and  reasonable  conclu- 
sions. The  proposal  of  arbitration  made  by  the 
street-car  strikers  settled  that  very  dangerous  dis- 
pute. If  arbitration  were  compulsory,  the  Lemont 
affair,  wherein  citizen-soldiers  shot  down  working- 
men, and  used  their  bayonets  on  their  wives,  would 
not  be  something  to  recall  with  indignation.  The 
aim  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  is  to  discourage 
strikes,  to  settle  by  arbitration,  disputes,  and  to 
remedy  wrongs,  be  they  on  the  side  of  employer  or 
employe.” 

In  Europe  the  law  has  been  found  a satisfac- 
tory solvent  for  various  phases  of  strikes  and  lock- 
outs. A court  of  arbitration  has  long  existed  in 
France,  and  in  1859,  Lord  Brogham  stated,  that  of 
28,000  cases  submitted  to  the  Conseils  des  Prud- 
hommes,  26,800  were  settled  without  appeal.  If 
such  results  have  been  secured  in  the  crowded  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  there  is  no  valid  reason  why  the 
same  ends  cannot  be  accomplished  in  the  United 
States. 

The  great  bricklayers’  strike  in  the  summer  of 
1887,  at  Chicago,  which  caused  a loss  of  over  $2,- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


251 


000,000,  was  settled  by  Judge  M.  F.  Tuley,  who, 
as  umpire,  proposed  the  following  scheme,  which 
was  accepted  by  both  sides,  and  will  undoubt- 
edly prove  efficacious  in  obviating  future  difficul- 
ties. 

“ That  a standing  committee,  to  be  elected  an- 
nually in  the  month  of  January,  defining  its  pow- 
ers and  duties,  we  request  shall  be  incorporated  into 
the  constitution  of  each  association. 

“This  joint  committee  will  be  constituted  of  an 
arbitration  committee  of  five  members  from  each  or- 
ganization (the  president  of  each  being  one  of  the 
five),  and  an  umpire  who  is  neither  a working  me- 
chanic nor  an  employer  of  mechanics,  to  be  chosen 
by  the  two  committees.  This  joint  committee  is 
given  power  to  hear  and  determine  all  grievances 
of  the  members  of  one  organization  against  mem- 
bers of  the  other,  and  of  one  organization  against 
the  other;  to  determine  and  fix  all  working  rules 
governing  employers  and  employes,  such  as:  (1) 
The  minimum  rate  of  wages  per  hour;  (2)  the  num- 
ber of  hours  of  work  per  day;  (3)  uniform  pay 
day;  (4)  the  time  of  starting  and  quitting  work;  (5) 
the  rate  paid  for  night  and  Sunday  work,  and  ques- 
tions of  like  nature.  And  it  is  given  power  to  de- 
termine what  number  of  apprentices  should  be  en- 
rolled, so  to  afford  all  boys  desiring  to  learn  the 
trade  an  opportunity  to  do  so,  without  overcrowd- 
ing, so  as  not  to  cause  the  coming  workman  to  be 
unskilled  in  his  art,  or  the  supply  of  labor  to  gross- 


252 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ly  exceed  the  demand  therefor.  It  is  also  given 
exclusive  power  to  determine  all  subjects  in  which 
trade  organizations  may  be  interested,  and  which 
may  be  brought  before  it  by  the  action  of  either 
organization,  or  the  president  thereof.” 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


253 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


CO-OPERATION. 

ALL  GREAT  ENTERPRISES  DEPEND  ON  CO-OPERATION 

A COMMON  OBJECT  IS  COMMON  ADVANTAGE ORGAN- 
IZATION AND  CO-OPERATION  A GREAT  POWER THE 

WAGE  SYSTEM  OPPOSED  TO  CO-OPERATION CO-OPER- 
ATION A SUCCESS LECLAIRE’s  GREAT  ORGANIZATION 

RAILROAD  CO-OPERATION  IN  FRANCE INDUSTRIAL 

PARTNERSHIP  IN  ENGLAND ALFRED  TAYLOR  ON  THE 

SUBJECT — D.  S.  CURTISS DEVELOPMENT  AND  EXTENT 

OF  CO-OPERATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES COMPLETE 

REVIEW  OF  WHAT  HAS  BEEN  DONE. 

Civilization  rests  and  advances,  to  a great  extent, 
on  the  principles  of  co-operation.  All  of  the  enter- 
prises and  industries  which  produce  vast  and  bene- 
ficial results  depend,  for  development,  on  associa- 
tion. It  is  the  channel  by  which  discoveries  in 
art  and  science  are  distributed,  and  thus  inure  to 
the  benefit  of  the  world. 

The  organization  of  individuals  for  a common  ob- 
ject lends  the  strength  and  capacity  of  the  strong 
and  able  to  all,  and  the  weakest  and  those  of  infer- 
ior capacity  reaps  the  common  advantage.  "When 


254 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


the  principles  of  co-operation  are  fully  understood, 
their  adoption  will  be  carried  into  effect  by  thous- 
ands of  industries,  and  the  injurious  effects  of  in- 
corporated concerns  will  be  avoided.  A country’s 
wealth  depends  upon  its  production,  and  as  organi- 
zation and  co-operation  increases  production,  it 
naturally  follows  that  the  country  adopting  co-opera- 
tion will  enjoy  an  unbroken  era  of  prosperity.  The 
intelligent  direction  and  application  of  labor  has 
a direct  tendency  to  enhance  wages.  A forcible 
illustration  of  this  truth  may  be  found  in  the  pro- 
auction of  wheat  in  Egypt,  India,  and  America, 
which  is  sold  in  the  English  market.  The  labor 
er’s  day  wages  in  Egypt  is  a small  radish;  in  India, 
five  cents,  and  in  many  of  the  United  States,  $2.00 
a day,  or  forty  times  as  much  as  the  harvester  in 
India.  High  wages  are  paid  only  from  high  pro- 
duction. The  American,  by  improved  machinery, 
cuts,  threshes  and  sacks  one  hundred  pounds  of 
wheat  at  a cost  of  but  a few  cents. 

The  pages  of  history  reveal  the  sad  fact,  that  the 
want  of  the  actual  necessities  of  life  has  ever  been 
the  curse  of  labor.  The  cause  of  this  distress  lies  in 
the  fact  that  governments  have  legislated  with  the 
only  thought  to  preserve  the  government  instead  of 
for  the  best  interests  of  their  producers.  The  im- 
mense armies  of  Europe  are  evidence  of  the  truth 
of  this  statement.  The  declaration  of  principles  in 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States  asserts  that 
every  American  citizen  lias  inalienable  rights — 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


255 


rights  which  secure  him  liberty,  property,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness,  even  to  the  commanding  the 
support  of  every  citizen  in  the  whole  country.  We 
need  no  standing  armies  to  menace  the  people;  and 
our  time  can  be  well  directed  to  securing  an  abund- 
ance of  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life. 

If  the  wage  system  were  abolished  and  the  equi- 
ties of  co-operation  placed  in  its  stead,  the  vast  army 
of  non-producers  would  vanish,  and  humanity  would 
be  in  a better  condition.  Legislation  would  be 
directed  towards  the  developing  of  the  welfare  of  in- 
dustries and  to  the  creation  of  peace  and  plenty.  To 
supersede  the  wage  system  by  the  introduction  of 
the  co-operative  industrial  system  has  always  been 
the  goal  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  and  the  order  has 
a supervising  board  which  looks  after  its  interests 
in  that  direction. 

The  practical  application  of  co-operation  is  not 
an  innovation.  It  is  now  in  successful  operation 
in  hundreds  of  localities,  and  is  everywhere  meet- 
ing with  the  most  gratifying  results. 

To  directly  interest  the  workingman  in  the 
profits  of  his  labor  is  a sure  means  of  avoiding 
strikes  and  lockouts,  and  to  obviate  all  possibility 
of  differences  between  the  employer  and  the  em- 
ployed. Edme-Jean  Leclaire,  a house  painter,  the 
son  of  a poor  village  shoemaker  in  France,  was  the 
first  to  successfully  introduce  the  principles  of  co- 
operative industry.  In  1841  he  put  into  execution 
his  plan  of  surmounting  the  antagonism  which  ex- 


256 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


isted  between  workman  and  master.  He  organiz- 
ed a number  of  house  and  decorative  painters  into  a 
society,  each  member  of  which  was  to  receive  a pro- 
portionate amount  of  the  profits  of  the  year’s  work, 
over  and  above  their  wages.  Considerable  opposi- 
tion was  met  with,  and  at  every  side  he  met 
with  discouragement  from  masters.  The  press  ac- 
cused him  of  seeking  to  reduce  wages;  the  police 
saw  in  his  plans  a cunning  scheme  for  enticing 
workmen  away  from  their  employers,  and  did  their 
best  to  thwart  him  by  prohibiting  meetings  of 
his  employes.  However,  on  the  15th  of  February, 
1 842,  Leclaire  met  his  workmen,  forty:four  in  num- 
ber, and  divided  11,886  francs  between  them. 

All  opposition  vanished,  and  he  was  given  un- 
limited confidence.  In  succeeding  years  larger 
sums  were  distributed.  During  the  six  years 
from  1842  to  1847  inclusive,  about  20,000  francs 
were  annually  divided  among  an  average  of  eighty 
persons.  Leclaire’s  organization  finally  secured  a 
legal  status,  and  has  never  ceased  to  prosper. 

There  are  at  present  over  fifty  industrial  estab- 
lishments in  France,  Alsace  and  Switzerland,  work- 
ing upon  co-operative  principles,  all  of  them  in  a 
highly  prosperous  condition.  The  Paris  and  Or- 
leans railway  company  have,  since  1844,  annually 
given  their  employes  a share  of  the  profits.  Three 
other  railroads  in  France,  united  with  the  Paris  and 
Orleans  road,  give  their  operatives  the  same  ad- 
vantage. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


259 


Industrial  partnership  lias,  of  late,  been  introduc- 
ed in  England  with  remarkable  results.  In  1864, 
the  Whitwood  collieries  entered  into  an  arrangement 
whereby  their  employes  receive  a share  of  the  pro- 
fits. The  best  results  were  obtained  during  the  suc- 
ceeding ten  years,  when,  in  1874,  a change  in  the 
trade  necessitated  a reduction  of  wages,  the  men 
struck,  and  the  system  was  discontinued.  Had  the 
men  intelligently  investigated  the  situation,  it  is 
probable  no  strike  would  have  occurred. 

The  success  which  has  been  achieved  in  Eng- 
land— and  it  has  been  a marked  success — has  been 
in  co-operative  distribution.  Some  of  the  societies 
do  a vast  business,  and  divide  among  those  who  are 
at  once  members  and  customers  very  handsome  pro- 
fits. Naturally  enough,  this  has  led  to  experiments 
by  the  same  societies  in  co-operative  production. 
This  is  a short  and  easy  step.  If  the  members  are 
to  divide  the  profits  which  would  go,  ordinarily,  to 
the  jobber,  wholesaler,  and  retailer,  why  should 
they  not  also  become  manufacturers  of  some  of  the 
principal  commodities,  and  so  divide  among  them- 
selves the  manufacturers’  profits  as  well?  The  prin- 
cipal experiments  have  been  those  of  the  “Whole- 
sale Society  ” of  Manchester  and  that  of  Glasgow, 
and  the  experiment  in  each  case  has  been  the  man- 
ufacture of  shoes.  The  Manchester  society  has  two 
factories,  employing  1,000  people  and  doing  an  an- 
nual business  of  over  $1,000,000.  Being  able  to 
sell  their  goods  largely  in  their  own  stores  and  to 


260 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


their  own  members,  the  societies  have  had  an  ad- 
vantage over  ordinary  manufacturers,  and  their  new 
enterprises  have  been  lucrative.  The  co-operative 
consumers — if  we  may  so  describe  the  members  of 
the  societies  in  their  original  capacity — are  simply 
shareholders  in  the  factories,  those  enterprises  af- 
fording an  opening  for  the  investment  of  their  sur- 
plus. The  old  force  of  competition — from  which 
the  new  system  of  co-operation  was  to  have  effected 
deliverance— therefore  comes  in. 

Wide  application  of  co-operation  offers  a pros- 
pect of  vivifying  and  purifying  industry  to  an  ex- 
tent of  which  we  have  as  yet  but  a faint  conception, 
and  the  employers  and  consumers  in  America  can^ 
not  do  better  than  avail  themselves  of  the  profitable 
experience  of  those  who  have  tested  its  merits. 
Capital  is  bitterly  denounced  on  the  one  .side,  and 
the  inefficiency  and  apathy  of  labor  is  execrated  on 
the  other.  These  extremes  are  one  of  the  causes 
of  strikes  and  increased  depression  during  hard 
times. 

“One of  the  prime  causes  of  existing  labor  trou- 
bles,” writes  Alfred  Taylor,  “is  to  be  found  in  the 
wage  system  itself.  This  system  is  erroneous  to 
start  with.  While  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  rela- 
tions of  employer  and  employe  might  be  better  than 
they  are,  it  is  still  true  that  the  system  retains  some 
of  the  spirit  of  master  and  slave.  No  man  is  at 
his  best  without  the  feeling  of  independence;  the 
feeling  that  he  is  master  of  his  own  acts.  Strive  as 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


261 


he  may,  no  man  can  take  the  same  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  another  that  he  takes  in  his  own.  Jt  is 
not  natural;  it  is  a strained  position  and  his  trust- 
worthiness will  be  in  the  ratio  of  his  intellectual 
development.  It  is  well  known  that  wage  slavery 
makes  intellectual  culture  next  to  impossible,  be- 
cause of  the  want  of  time  and  means  to  obtain  such 
culture.  Hence,  just  in  proportion  that  the  employ- 
er is  successful,  just  in  the  same  proportion  is  the 
employe  reduced  to  the  mental  and  moral  condition 
where  his  trustworthiness  and  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  his  employer  is  at  zero. 

“ The  only  true  remedy  for  this  is  in  co-operative 
industry.  When  each  man  can  feel  that  he  is  a 
proprietor;  when  he  can  feel  that  he  is  working  for 
himself  and  not  for  a master;  when  he  can  feel  and 
know  that  his  brain  and  muscle  weighs  equally  in  the 
scale  with  the  dollar  of  his  associates,  and  that  the 
dividends  on  each  shall  be  declared  in  the  just  ra- 
tio, then,  and  not  till  then,  will  labor  stand  upon  its 
proper  pedestal. 

“The  wage  system  places  the  laborer  at  the  mer- 
cy of  the  employer,  and  the  self-interest  of  the  em- 
ployer prompts  him  to  get  all  the  labor  he  can  for 
the  smallest  price,  while  the  self-interest  of  the  em- 
ploye prompts  him  to  get  the  greatest  price  for  the 
smallest  amount  of  labor.  This  leads  to  antago- 
nism where  there  should  be  harmony.  The  employ- 
er has  the  advantage  in  this  antagonism  in  propor- 
tion to  the  amount  of  labor  ill  the  market.  What 


262 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


difference  is  there  under  these  circumstances  be- 
tween buying  and  selling  men,  and  buying  and  sell- 
ing the  labor  of  men  when  there  is  but  one  party  to 
the  contract  ? And  this  is  the  case  where  the  mar- 
ket is  overcrowded,  and  where  machinery  enables 
capital  to  dispense  with  human  labor.  Capital  is 
not  to  blame  for  taking  advantage  of  these  circum- 
stances, nor  is  labor  to  blame  for  its  dissatisfac- 
tion. 

“It  is  the  system  that  is  wrong,  and  as  soon  as 
this  can  be  made  plain,  there  will  be  an  universal 
effort  to  remedy  it.  Wherever  co-operation  has  had 
a fair  trial  it  has  proved  successful.  And  when 
capital  can  be  convinced  that  co-operation  will  in- 
crease rather  than  diminish  its  gains,  by  creating  a 
nobler  incentive  on  the  part  of  labor,  it  will  fall 
readily  into  line  and  do  its  duty. 

“Self-interest,  after  all,  is  the  key  to  the  situa- 
tion. That  is  a chord  in  human  nature  that  is  al- 
ways responsive.  And  while  inordinate  greed  is  re- 
prehensible, a true  self-interest  is  the  parent  of  in- 
dustry, economy  and  every  material  virtue.  Guide 
this  self-interest  into  the  channel  of  co-operation, 
and  capital  and  labor  join  hands  upon  one  common 
ground  of  friendship  and  equality.” 

In  a paper  contributed  to  “The  National  Yiew,” 
Col.  D.  S.  Curtiss  says  : “ Co-operation  is  equally 

adapted  to  large  or  small  enterprises: — to  very  mod- 
erate or  most  extensive  operations.  It  may  be  ad-, 
vantageously  employed  in  constructing  large  bridg- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


263 


es,  mills,  factories,  in  working  large  farms  and 
even  in  digging  canals  and  constructing  railroads, 
and  then  in  operating  them,  in  any  operation  that 
requires  more  manual  labor  than  the  family  can  do, 
this  mode  will  do.  Under  this  system,  in  labor 
operations — such  as  building  houses,  carrying  on 
shoe,  cabinet,  blacksmith  or  other  shops,  working 
farms,  and  running  factories,  according  to  mutual 
agreement — all  the  laborers  or  operatives  will  re- 
ceive pay  for  the  quantity  and  quality  of  work  they 
perform,  and  an  equal  division  of  all  the  profits  of 
the  operation.  So  in  trading  and  merchandising,  all 
will  be  fairly  paid  by  mutual  understanding  for  the 
service  performed,  and  all  the  parties  in  the  co- 
operation will  share  the  profits  of  the  trade  or  store 
in  the  proportion  which  they  buy  or  pay  into  it, 
while  they  who  furnish  any  more  capital  than 
their  purchases,  will  be  paid  a just  interest  for  it, 
as  shall  be  agreed  upon.  Thereby,  on  this  princi- 
ple, all  of  the  customers,  operatives  and  capitalists, 
justly  share  the  profits  and  are  fairly  compensated, 
no  class  monopolizing  an  undue  portion  of  the  pro- 
fits or  gains  of  another’s  labor  or  efforts.  But  I 
need  not  dwell  upon  the  mode  of  co-operation,  as  it 
is  easy  to  understand;  my  chief  object  is  to  call  at- 
tention to  it  as  one  of  the  lawful  and  inoffensive 
means  of  readily  securing  more  adequate,  even  full 
reward,  to  laborers,  and  thus  soon  end  the  violent 
strifes  now  being  waged  between  labor  and  incor- 
porated capital,  forced  by  the  latter  upon  the  former. 


264 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


“ Wealthy  monopolies  and  chartered  corporations 
have  long  and  steadily  combined  to  enhance  their 
own  interests,  and  to  keep  down  the  wages  of  all 
laborers,  they  have  chartered  privileges,  not  pos- 
sessed by  them  individually,  to  aid  their  power  of 
combination  against  labor,  and  those  in  government 
authority  always  aid  the  wealthy  and  monopolist, 
but  strike  down  and  coerce  the  laborer;  therefore, 
laborers  have  a right  to  combine  for  their  own  wel- 
fare, they  are  justified  in  the  most  effective  combi- 
nations they  can  make  for  their  own  protection  and 
welfare.  A further  effect  of  this  system  will  be  to 
peacefully  compel  the  more  arrogant  employers  to 
act  justly  toward  employes  who  do  not  happen  to 
enlist  in  the  self-employment  of  co-operation,  as 
they  will  be  rendered  less  dependent  upon  wealthy 
employers.  Under  this  system  there  will  be  no 
motive  or  need  for  strikes,  boycotts,  lockouts,  or 
other  violent  measures,  to  secure  just  pay  and  hours 
to  the  hard  workers. 

“When  fairly  and  thoroughly  organized  in  this 
manner,  such  a body  of  industrious,  intelligent,  and 
skillful  workers  would  always  and  everywhere  com- 
mand the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  community; 
and  should  they  at  any  time  wish  to  enter  upon 
more  extensive  enterprises  than  their  personal  means 
would  enable  them  to  carry  out,  they  could  find 
plenty  of  unemployed  capital  whose  owners  would 
be  glad  to  invest  it  with  them— to  loan  it  to  them  at 
a reasonable  low  rate  of  interest.  For  instance, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


265 


should  a co-operative  association,  embracing  many 
laborers,  wish  to  enter  into  a contract  to  build  a 
costly  house  or  bridge,  or  mill,  or  manufactory,  or 
to  run  a large  grain  and  stock  farm,  but  lacked  the 
requisite  means  to  start  with,  they  would  have  no 
trouble  in  borrowing  the  money;  it  would  be  more 
difficult  for  money  to  find  laborers  than  for  labor  to 
find  money,  when  co-operation  extensively  prevail- 
ed, because  most  laborers  would  be  better  employ- 
ed than  working  for  capitalists;  while  large  capi- 
talists could  not  make  large  contracts  for  building, 
as  they  would  be  unable  to  hire  much  labor. 

“Another  effect  that  will  result  from  the  general 
establishment  of  co-operative  organizations  will  be 
the  more  equitable  apportionment  of  wages  for  ser- 
vices; under  present  customs  a most  flagrant  dis- 
parity of  salaries  compared  to  the  services  perform- 
ed, and  the  dangers  assumed,  obtains;  in  many  po- 
sitions and  occupations  extravagant  salaries  are  paid 
where  but  little  service  is  rendered,  light  accounta- 
bility, with  no  hardship  or  danger  incurred.  As  an 
instance,  take  the  operating  of  railroads,  superin- 
tendents, vice-presidents,  and  presidents  receive  var- 
iously five,  ten,  and  even  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars’ salary  annually,  with  little  responsibility  for 
the  safety  of  life  and  property,  and  none  of  the 
hardships  and  dangers  of  running  the  trains;  but 
the  trusty,  skillful  engineer  or  engine-driver,  who 
stands  at  the  open-mouth  of  danger  and  death,  in 
night  and  day,  light  and  dark,  in  storm  and  cold, 
18 


266 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


holding  in  his  hand,  watchfully  and  secure,  the  safe- 
ty of  thousands  of  lives  and  millions  of  property — 
upon  whose  honest  skill  and  care  the  lives  of  the 
passengers  and  the  value  of  the  entire  train  constant- 
ly depend  for  safety — this  grandly  skillful  and 
highly  responsible  employe  receives  in  salary 
scarcely  more  hundreds  than  those  easy  fellows, 
above  named,  receive  thousands.  It  is  a shameful 
injustice  that  those  skillful,  responsible,  danger-be- 
set men  should  be  so  meagerly  paid, when  those  na- 
bob officials  are  paid  so  much  for  no  hardships,  or 
risks,  or  dangers. 

4 4 The  same  fact  holds  true,  to  a large  extent,  to 
other  train  hands  on  railroads,  and  to  some  degree, 
in  fact,  among  the  operatives  in  express  companies, 
large  mills,  and  manufactories,  telegraph  compan- 
ies, and  some  other  avocations  of  the  business  world. 
Inadequate  compensation  to  those  who  incur  most 
toil,  hardship,  and  exposure,  and  liable  to  greater 
dangers  and  responsibilities,  but  extravagant  pay 
to  those  most  exempt  from  danger  and  hardship  is 
a shame  and  disgrace.  This  unjust  and  unreasona- 
ble disparity  of  wages  will  be  mostly  done  away 
under  the  general  adoption  of  co-operation.  There 
is  no  just  reason  why  a skillful  compositor  should 
not  receive  as  much  pay  for  setting  up  an  article  as 
the  man  gets  for  writing  the  same;  it  requires  as 
many  years  for  the  printer  to  learn  to  set  type,  read 
manuscript,  and  punctuate  correctly,  as  the  writer 
spent  in  qualifying  to  write  it.  So  in  regard  to  a 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


267 


lawyer  or  doctor.  There  is  no  justice  in  paying  them 
more  for  an  hour  or  day’s  service  than  should  be 
paid  to  a good  carpenter,  shipwright,  or  other  skill- 
ful mechanic;  it  requires  as  long  time  and  study  to 
learn  a trade  well  as  to  learn  those  so-called  pro- 
fessions, while  the  latter  has  a more  easy  life, 

“When  this  peaceful  method  of  co-operation  is 
generally  adopted,  and  mechanics  and  other  labor- 
ers unitedly  vote  for  only  their  friends,  observe 
economy,  sobriety,  study,  and  thoughtfulness,  all 
workers  will  be  better  paid,  happier,  and  more  pros- 
perous; then  all  branches  will  be  fairly  and  equally 
paid.” 

A partial  census  of  the  co-operative  undertakings 
in  the  United  States,  by  investigators  of  the 
Economic  Association,  shows  that  there  is  much 
more  co-operation  in  this  country  than  is  generally 
supposed.  According  to  the  New  York  correspond- 
ent of  the  Philadelphia  “ Press,”  reports  have  been 
received  from  New  England,  the  middle  Western 
states,  and,  with  minute  detail,  from  Minnesota. 
Both  distributive  and  productive  co-operation  are 
included  in  the  inquiry.  In  New  England  there  are 
at  least  fifty-three  establishments  engaged  in  dis- 
tributive co-operation.  More  familiarly  these  are 
known  as  co-operative  stores.  About  one-half,  or 
twenty-eight,  are  in  Massachusetts;  six  in  Connecti- 
cut, sixteen  in  Maine,  two  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
one  in  Rhode  Island,  Most  of  these  have  been  or- 
ganized since  1870;  one  dates  back  to  1847,  and 


268 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


another  to  1850.  These  two  early  ones,  and  another 
founded  in  1866,  are  the  only  survivals  of  the  old 
union  stores  of  forty  years  ago.  At  one  time  there 
were  106  of  these.  Somewhat  similar  are  the 
Grange  stores,  which  are  patronized  by  the  25,000 
or  30,000  members  of  this  organization.  These 
Grange  stores  in  the  East  are  confined  to  Maine, 
New  Hampshire  and  Connecticut.  They  are  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest,  and  have  a successful  basis. 

Of  the  fifty-three  stores,  thirty-two  report  an  ag- 
gregate capital  of  $137,000,  the  amount  of  each 
ranging  from  $1,000  to  $40,000,  In  general,  the  par 
value  of  a share  is  $5.  This  is  significant  as  indi- 
cating the  possibility  of  investment  by  the  poor 
man.  The  number  of  shareholders  in  fifty-two  com- 
panies is  5,470,  which  indicates  a rather  wide  inter- 
est. The  trade  reported  by  the  thirty-three  stores 
making  full  returns  is  $1,600,000.  As  many  of  the 
stores  turned  over  their  capital  more  than  twelve 
times  during  the  year,  it  may  be  safely  stated  that 
the  entire  business  of  distributive  co-operation  in 
New  England  was  $2,000,000  during  the  past  year. 

In  the  West,  the  Grange  store  has  not  generally 
survived  the  misfortunes  of  its  earlier  days.  In  Illi- 
nois there  were  at  one  time  co-operative  stores  in 
one-half  of  the  counties  of  the  state.  These  have 
been  mostly  failures.  In  Michigan  there  are  three 
semi-successful  stores;  in  Indiana  and  Ohio  little 
remains  of  former  prosperity.  The  idea  has  been 
better  realized  in  Kansas,  where  at  the  present  time 


4 HAPPY  HOMK- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


271 


there  are  twenty  or  thirty  small  stores.  The  oldest 
and  most  successful  is  at  Olathe,  which  has  increas- 
ed its  sales  from  $41,000  in  1876  to  $210,000  in 
1886. 

The  efforts  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  or  of  other 
labor  organizations,  are  too  recent  to  justify  much 
mention.  In  1886,  sentiment  in  this  direction  rapid- 
ly crystallized,  and  labor  stores  were  established.  It 
is  here  that  interest  in  the  future  will  be  the  great- 
est. A unique,  though  not,  perhaps,  strictly  co-op- 
erative, institution  is  the  Mormon  undertaking, 
called  the  “ Zion’s  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institu- 
tion.” The  stock  of  the  company  is  $1,000,000,  and 
the  sales  between  $4,000,000  and  $5,000,000.  It  is 
more  proper,  however,  to  call  this  a joint  stock  cor- 
poration, although  its  results  have  been  somewhat 
similar  to  those  reached  by  thewliolesaleco-operative 
stores  of  New  England. 

Later  in  time  there  has  been  developed  that  form 
of  co-operation  known  as  productive.  Of  the 
twenty  companies  in  New  England,  sixteen  are  in 
Massachusetts.  There  are  eleven  in  Ohio,  seven  in 
Indiana,  fourteen  in  Illinois,  four  in  Michigan,  nine 
in  Missouri , and  two  in  Kansas.  Productive  co-op- 
eration seems  to  have  struck  more  deeply  in  the 
West  than  elsewhere. 

Of  more  importance  is  the  form  of  production 
which  co-operation  has  taken.  In  New  England 
there  are  seven  co-operative  shoe  companies,  three 
printing  companies,  and  two  furniture  companies. 


272 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


Five  other  companies  have  been  just  organized,  and 
it  is  estimated  that  in  this  year  there  will  be  a busi- 
ness of  more  than  a million  dollars.  The  most  suc- 
cessful, perhaps,  is  the  stove  company  in  Stoneham, 
Mass.,  which  has  an  annual  product  of  $150,000, 
with  a capital  of  $20,000,  divided  among  fifty- 
seven  shareholders,  twenty-five  of  whom  are  em 
ployed  in  the  establishment.  There  are  at  least 
1,100  shareholders  in  these  twenty  associations,  and 
if  we  take  into  consideration  those  which  have  not 
reported,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  ten  thousand  persons 
are  interested  in  co-operation  in  New  England. 

In  the  West  more  kinds  of  industries  are  repre- 
sented in  co-operation.  In  1886  there  were  at  least 
seven  co-operative  mining  companies  in  operation 
in  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri.  Three  of  them, 
with  a combined  capital  of  $55,000,  are  reported  as 
prosperous;  and  in  those  cases  where  failure  has 
occurred,  it  has  been  due  to  the  hostile  action  of  the 
railroads.  These  companies  all  originated  either 
from  strikes  or  disaffection  with  wages.  The  furni- 
ture-makers have  enjoyed  considerable  success.  Of 
their  five  undertakings,  one  dates  back  to  1878; 
three  of  them  are  situated  in  St.  Louis.  The  great- 
est success  has  been  achieved  by  the  coopers  in  Min- 
neapolis. The  history  of  their  work  is  of  common 
report.  Their  one  shop  of  1874  has  increased  to  8. 

Farmers  have  done  little  with  productive  co-oper- 
ation. The  few  agricultural  colonies  are  as  yet  ex- 
perimental, but  co-operative  creameries  are  common 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


273 


in  New  England,  New  York  and  Ohio.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  about  one-fourth  of  the  dairying  in  some 
counties  of  the  latter  state  is  carried  on  in  the  co- 
operative form. 

This  completes  the  review  of  what  has  been  done 
in  co-operation  thus  far  in  the  United  States,  In 
conclusion,  it  maybe  said,  that  this  experience  shows 
that  the  co-operative  store  can  be  made  successful, 
but  that  as  yet  co-operation  with  dividends  to  labor 
is,  except  in  Minneapolis,  in  such  a tentative  condi- 
tion that  no  definite  judgment  can  be  given.  In 
addition  to  the  forms  of  co-operation  mentioned, 
there  should  be  added,  to  make  a complete  inquiry, 
co-operative  banks  and  building  associations. 


274 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 


HOME  THE  PALLADIUM  OF  SOCIETY.i 

MAN  WITHOUT  A HOME  AN  OUTCAST THE  STATE  IS  BUT 

THE  INDIVIDUAL,  THE  INDIVIDUAL  A MINIATURE  STATE 

HOME  THE^BULWARK  OF  VIRTUE CICERO’S  MAXIM 

DEFECTS  OF  OUR  SOCIAL  SYSTEM THE  BURDEN  OF 

INDIRECT  TAXATION — HANDWRITING  ON  THE  WALL- 

CO-OPERATION  A BLESSING  FOR  THE  PEOPLE SUCCESS 

OF  CORPORATIONS  — ‘ ( SWEET  HOME  ” CAN  BE  MADE 
A REALITY WISDOM  FOR  THE  HOMELESS  . 

“Men  who  are  housed  like  pigs  can  hardly  pray  like  Christians ; and 
where  life  is  a long  flight  from  starvation,  it  is  not  a flight  that  takes 
the  fugitive  towards  heaven. 

“I  don't  know  whether  it  will  shock  you.  She  said  that  a home 
which  a decent  man  can  respect,  has  as  much  to  do  with  holiness  as 
have  all  the  Seven  Sacraments. “ 

‘ ‘ THE  OLD  ORDER  CHANGES.  ” 

Were  I asked,  “What  is  the  most  important  step 
to  take,  at  once,  in  the  interest  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple,” I should  say,  without  a moment’s  hesitation, 
place  every  head  of  a family  in  a home  free  from 
tax,  rent  and  interest.  Were  the  question  then  put, 
“How  are  we  to  do  this,”  my  answer  would  be,  have 


1 By  Albert  Owen. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  270 

men  and  women,  to  incorporate  themselves  into 
companies,  select  and  obtain  lands  suitable  for 
town,  farm  and  factory,  and  go  to  work  upon  a well 
matured  plan  to  employ  themselves,  to  build  their 
houses,  to  grow  their  crops,  to  operate  their  facto- 
ries, to  exchange  their  services  and  to  discipline 
their  lives. 

Home  is  the  basis  for  every  reform.  Without 
homes  people  will  be  shiftless,  nothing  can  be 
substantial,  and  the  best  effort,  the  kindest  thought 
are  but  a mockery  of  what  they  might  be  were 
every  one  properly  employed  and  comfortably  hous- 
ed. The  homeless  are  the  discontented,  the  diseas- 
ed, the  criminally  inclined.  The  destructionists,  the 
anarchists,  the  nihilists,  only  exist  where  there  are 
homeless  people.  A man  or  a woman  without  a 
home  is  a waif.  Society  is  ever  and  incessantly 
forcing  him  or  her  to  move  on.  “ The  chattel  slave 
had  his  or  her  cabin,  but  the  modern  tramp  has  not 
a place  whereon  to  lay  his  or  her  head.  A person 
without  a home  is  a factor  for  revolution. 

Evolution  can  be  brought  about  only  by  those  who 
have  homes  wherein  they  can  study,  think  and  plan. 
There  is  nothing  certain  connected  with  a home- 
less man  or  woman,  except  uncertainty.  Justice  can 
not  be  practiced,  and  equity  is  simply  a name  among 
a people  who  are  but  partly  housed.  Instructions 
in  ethics,  morals  and  science  are  worthless  where 
people  live  along  gutters,  and  sleep  in  houses  and 
on  lands  owned  by  other  people  than  themselves;  and 


276 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


“ reformers”  may  agitate  about  “the  land’s  unearn- 
ed increment,”  total  abstinence,  no  distinction  of 
sex  in  the  political  franchise,  “salvation  in  Christ 
Jesus,”  eight  hours  for  a day’s  work;  and  the  trade 
unions  may  strike  every  day  in  the  year,  but  until  the 
producers  incorporate  to  secure  themselves  agreea- 
ble, regular  and  remunerative  employments,  to  han- 
dle and  exchange  their  own  products,  and  to  place 
every  head  of  a family  in  a beautiful  home,  free 
from  tax,  rent  and  interest,  they  will  do  nothing 
that  is  substantial  to  right  the  wrongs  under  which 
modern  society  is  staggering,  tottering  towards  its 
inevitable  engulfment. 

The  great  Plato  maintained  that  “the  state  is 
but  the  individual  on  a larger  scale,  the  individual  is 
but  a miniature  state;”  and  the  greater  Aristotle, 
who  was  a pupil  of  Plato,  based  his  philosophy  on 
the  principle  of  experience;  that  is  to  say,  the  prin- 
ciple that  all  our  thinking  should  be  founded  on  the 
observation  of  facts.  Aristotle  was  the  founder  of 
the  inductive  school,  and  built  not  from  theory  but 
from  established  fact — from  what  had  been  actually 
done.  Heraclitus  was  of  the  deductive  school,  and 
imagined  a base,  and  then  eloquently  expounded  a 
doctrine  like  our  “land  unearned  increment”  ex- 
pounders do  to-day.  He  began  with  “Fire  is  the 
substance  of  everything,”  “and  everything  flows;” 
and  Pythagoras,  likewise,  took  as  the  basis  for  his 
agitation  and  reform:  “The  numerical  proportions 
are  the  real  substance,” 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


277 


Well,  what  of  it  if  they  are  ? What  has  that 
to  do  with  the  employment  and  contentment 
of  the  people;  how  is  that  theory  going  to  give 
employment  to  the  1,000, 0001  men  and  women, 
who  are  begging  for  work,  lest  they  die,  in  these 
United  States;  why  pass  time — precious  time — 
over  nice  theories  when  the  census  tells  us  that  there 
are  500, 0003  young  girls,  in  these  United  States, 
being  prostituted,  and  that  100,000  of  them  are  dy- 
ing every  year — dyirg  disgraced,  broken  hearted 
and  prematurely;  and  yet  Pythagoras  was  in  his  day 
one  of  the  great  leading  philosophers,  and  he  rous- 
ed the  people  up  at  town  meetings  and  at  cross 
roads  then,  just  as  our  popular  agitators  do  to-day, 
and  with  about  as  little  result  towards  ameliorating 
the  conditions  of  the  people. 

But  it  is  claimed  these  agitators  4 4 make  the  peo- 
ple think.”  That  is  so,  but  of  what— to  think 
of  things  which  entertains  and  diverts  the  pro- 
ducers from  the  real  facts  in  the  case,  while  the  cun- 
ning tricksters,  the  lawyers,  the  brokers,  the  middle 
men  and  “ the  cannibals  of  Exchange  Alley”  put 
them  more  and  more  into  debt,  pile  taxes  upon 
them,  increase  their  rates  of  interest;  steal  their 
highways,  monopolize  their  exchanges,  occupy  their 
lands,  buy  up  their  inventions,  and  educate  their 
children  with  false  teachings.  Aristotle,  on  the 
contrary,  began  all  reforms  from  established  facts, 

1 T.  V.  Powderly , July  22, 1887,  at  Wilkesbarre,  Fa. 

2 The  Prodigal  Daughter,  by  Rachel  Campbell. 


278  THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 

and  with  lessons  acknowledged  after  they  had  been 
practically  applied;  he  took  every  step  cautious- 
ly, methodically  and  in  keeping  with  the  logic  of 
circumstances. 

“ It  is,  however,  not  so  much  by  his  philosophi- 
cal system  that  Aristotle  has  wielded  his  enormous 
influence,  especially  as  this  begins  only  at  present 
to  be  fully  understood  and  justly  appreciated,  as 
by  his  logical  inventions  and  his  method  of  philo- 
sophy in  general.  He  has,  more  than  any  other 
philosopher,  set  the  world  to  thinking  logically,  to 
teaching  science  and  art  systematically,  to  banish- 
ing from  the  domain  of  science  the  rampant  and 
arbitrary  action  of  fantasy,  to  observing  coolly  be- 
fore venturing  to  systematize,  and  to  loving  truth 
for  its  now  sake.” 

Cicero,  though  a Roman,  went  to  Greece,  and 
studied  in  the  inductive  schoof  of  Plato  and  Aris- 
totle. He  said:  “The  first  function  of  justice  is 
that  no  one  should  do  violence  to  another  unless 
compelled  by  violence  to  himself.  The  second  is, 
that  no  one  should  use  public  things  other- 
wise than  as  public  things;  and  should  use  pri- 
vate things  only  as  his  own.”  These  are,  to  my 
mind,  the  greatest  lessons  ever  expounded  in  any 
age  or  by  any  person.  There  never  has  been  a na- 
tion which  ever  properly  discriminated  between  pub- 
lic things  and  things  private,  and  there  never  has 
been  a nation  which  has  ever  succeeded  in  giving 
to  its  people  diversified  employments  and  beautiful 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


279 


homes;  and,  hence  all  nations  in  the  past  and  pres- 
ent, have  been  held  together  by  armed  forces  and 
by  the  intrenched  influences  of  privileged  classes. 

The  United  States  are  no  exception  to  the  rule. 
What  are  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  institutions  of 
the  United  States  have  had  one  hundred  and  eleven 
years  of  trial,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstan- 
ces, and  they  are  a failure.  They  do  not  give  to 
the  citizen  security  for  life,  property  or  happiness. 
The  inalienable  right  to  life,  to  the  use  of  property 
and  to  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  is  thus  far  a myth. 
Those  who  are  taxed  do  not  necessarily  have  repre- 
sentation. Even  the  people  who  vote  do  not  gov- 
ern, and  rarely  a majority  of  them  elect  the  candi- 
dates set  up  by  privileged  classes.  A moneyed  aris- 
tocracy has  seized  the  nation.  Incorporated  and 
privileged  classes  own  and  control  the  exchanges, 
transportations,  lands,  waters,  fuels,  lights,  powers, 
* inventions  and  legislations. 

The  producers  are  slaves,  without  an  hour  to  call 
their  own:  with  bodies  over-burdened,  brains  mud- 
dled, and  without  the  right  even  to  possess  the  things 
they  make,  the  lands  they  improve,  or  the  graves 
they  are  buried  in.  Even  the  children  and  wom- 
en of  the  American  laborer  are  driven,  from  neces- 
sity, and  forced  by  hirelings,  to  toil  from  dawn 
till  night,  that  others ' may  luxuriate  in  over-abun- 
dance. The  houses  they  shelter  themselves  in,  the 
farms  tl  iey  cultivate,  the  factories  they  work  in,  the 
theatre'  they  go  to,  the  hotels  they  stop  at,  the  cars 


280 


THE  VOICE  OE  L ABOIL 


they  journey  in,  the  wagons  they  haul  in,  the  boats 
they  steam  in,  are  each  made  and  operated  by 
themselves,  but  they  all  belong  to  the  privileged  and 
incorporated  classes. 

The  direct  tax  paid  by  labor,  and  every  tax  paid 
is  paid  by  labor,  whether  it  is  land  tax  or  interest 
on  money,  is  unnecessary  in  every  case;  but  it  is 
infinitesmal  in  amount  to  the  indirect  tax — the  in- 
terests, rentals,  expressages,  freightages,  etc. , which 
the  producers  are  forced,  by  law,  to  pay  for  the  use 
of  their  own  credits,  houses,  highways,  exchanges, 
transportations,  etc. 

Our  agitators,  however,  are  forever  arousing  pub- 
lic thought  on  the  injustice  of  direct  taxation;  and 
never  even  whisper  concerning  the  indirect  taxa- 
tion, which  is  really  the  question  at  issue.  The 
facts,  in  a similar  case,  are  that  a great  and  inces- 
sant howl  is  made  about  free  trade.  This  is  a mis- 
nomer to  begin  with,  for  those  who  advocate  “free 
trade”  have  no  wish  to  see  free  home  trade,  but 
they  advocate  that  foreign  manufacturers  who  are 
kept  up  by  English  subsidies  and  pauper  labor, 
shall  be  free  to  crush  out  our  comparatively  young 
industries  at  home.  These  brilliant  reformers  make 
all  their  noise  about  our  “ foreign  trade,”  which 
amounts,  at  best,  to  but  ten  per  cent  of  our  com- 
merce; and  they  ignore,  as  unworthy  of  their 
thought,  the  ninety  per  cent  of  internal,  inter-state, 
or  home  trade. 

Hence  it  is,  that  while  our  people’s  minds  are  at- 


MIDNIGHT  FIRES— BLAST  FURNACES,  PITTSBURG* 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


283 


tracted  by  eloquence  and  sweet  sounding  phrases 
upon  questions  other  than  those  at  issue,  that  the 
population  of  the  United  States  has  only  doubled, 
while  the  idiots,  deaf  and  dumb  patients,  convicts, 
inebriates  and  those  who  are  dependent  upon  the 
charities  for  protection,  shelter  and  food,  have  in- 
creased eight-fold.  What  a picture  for  a republic  to 
present  after  a little  over  one  hundred  years’  of  trial. 
Where  did  a despotism  ever  do  worse  in  so  short  a 
time? 

The  hand-writing  is  on  the  wall.  The  decadence 
of  our  institutions  is  seen  every  day  in  the  regattas, 
horse  racing,  prize  fighting,  burring  matches,  base 
ball  gambling,  and  the  ballet  enacted  for  the  de- 
praved tastes  of  a class  made  luxuriously  rich  and 
indifferently  selfish  by  the  possession  of  privileged 
monopolies.  The  daily  suicides,  murders,  robberies, 
crimes  and  filthy  diseases  of  the  homeless,  over- 
burdened and  dissatisfied  are  the  other  side — are  the 
shadows  to  the  first  picture.  Well  may  our  heathen 
friend,  Wong  Chin  Foo,  boast  that  among  the  four 
hundred  millions  of  people  in  China,  there  are  less 
murders  in  a year  than  there  are  in  the  single  state 
of  New  York,  within  the  same  time. 

The  question  is:  What  is  to  be  done,  and  how, 
when  and  by  whom?  This  is  business.  If  the  ques- 
tions of  our  day  are  to  be  solved,  they  will  be  solv- 
ed by  business  persons — others  are  not  capable 
of  looking  into  causes,  or  competent  to  mature  a 
plan  and  perfect  the  details  necessary  to  carry  the 


284 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


same  into  execution.  Induction  teaches  us  that  we 
must  go  from  a part  to  the  whole.  In  almost  every 
community  we  see  half  a dozen  or  more  hush 
ness  persons  incorporate  themselves  into  a com- 
pany and  obtain  the  privilege  to  receive  money  on 
deposit,  to  loan  credit  and  to  issue  currency;  and 
it  does  not  take  much  watching  to  see  that  these 
persons  get  rich. 

Again,  some  one  or  more  of  these  bankers  will 
associate  with  themselves  four  or  more  successful 
corner  grocerymen , prosperous  butchers,  or  well-to- 
do  manufacturers,  etc.,  and  will  incorporate  and  ob- 
tain the  privilege  to  furnish  gas;  others  to  bring 
water  into  the  town;  others  to  buy,  mortgage,  im- 
prove and  sell  lands;  others  to  build  and  oper- 
ate street  tramways;  others  to  construct  steam  rail- 
roads; others  to  put  up  telegraphs  and  telephone 
lines;  others  to  make  toll  roads  and  bridges;  others 
to  buy  and  control  the  oil  production;  others  to 
operate  steamships  and  sailing  vessels;  others  to  in- 
sure life;  others  to  insure  property;  and  others  to 
build  and  lease  hotels,  theatres,  flats,  etc. ; to  buy, 
improve  and  monopolize  inventions;  to  manufacture 
and  control  rubber  goods;  electric  motors;  to  farm 
large  tracts  of  land;  to  raise  cattle;  to  publish  pa- 
pers, magazines  and  books,  etc. 

We  see  more  and  more  companies  incorporated 
every  day,  and  we  see  the  little  companies  being  ab- 
sorbed by  the  larger.  Everywhere  we  see  the  in- 
dividual business  man  associating  with  himself 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


285 


other  business  persons  and  taking  out  papers  of 
corporation  to  do  something  too  big  for  one  man 
to  execute.  Everywhere  we  see  concentration  and 
combination  and  corporation  limited.  If  we  look 
close  we  will  find  that  he  or  she  who  has  had  bus- 
iness forethought  to  get  into  two  or  more  of  these 
incorporated  companies  is  richer  than  he  or  she  who 
has  only  incorporated  in  one;  we  will  see 
that  the  great  wealth,  in  the  United  States  particu- 
larly, has  been  made  through  investments  in  incor- 
porated companies;  and  that  there  is  scarcely  a suc- 
cessful business  person  who  is  not  in  one  .or  more 
ways  connected  with  them. 

Luxury  and  over-abundance  of  everything  char- 
acterizes the  surroundings  of  the  incorporated  indi- 
vidual; poverty,  wretchedness  and  the  absence  of 
the  common  comforts  of  existence  are  the  lot  of  the 
unincorporated  individual. 

Those  who  have  incorporated,  for  a well-planned 
purpose,  act  independent  of  those  they  hire.  Those 
who  have  not  made  a business  alliance  with  others, 
and  incorporated  to  carry  their  purpose  into  execu- 
tion, are  dependent  upon  those  who  have. 

If  these  incorporated  companies  have  been  so  uni- 
formly successful  in  carrying  out  their  plans  and  in 
making  stockholders  prosperous  and  influential,  that 
they  give  their  members  more  agreeable  employ- 
ments and  better  homes,  and  that  the  person  who  is 
in  two  is  better  off  than  the  person  who  is  in  one, 
would  it  not  be  wise  for  a large  number  of  men 


m 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOB. 


and  women  to  take  out  papers  of  incorporation  to. 
establish  a deposit  and  loan  bank;  to  buy,  lay  out 
and  improve  a town  sight  and  farm;  to  build 
houses,  operate  factories;  to  furnish  gas,  water,  fuel, 
power,  transportation,  food,  drink,  clothes,  etc. ; to 
insure  life  and  property:  to  secure  inventions;  to 
employ,  educate,  entertain,  amuse,  cremate,  etc. 
If  to  incorporate  and  control  any  one  of  these  has 
been  found  to  be  conducive  to  the  good  health, 
spirits,  comfort  and  education,  of  those  who 
have  monopolized  them,  why  should  it  not  be  bet- 
ter to  pool  all,  or  to  consolidate  a hundred  or  more, 
into  one  large  incorporated  company  ? 

In  doing  this  we  will  act  in  the  strict  line  of  the 
instruction  given  us  by  Cicero,  “that  no  one  should 
use  public  things,  otherwise  than  as  public  things,  and 
should  use  private  things  only  as  his  own.”  The 
control  of  the  land  and  its  deposits,  the  highways, 
water  ways,  the  atmosphere,  exchanges,  transporta- 
tions, entertainments,  amusements,  instructions, 
sanitations,  insurances,  the  ways  and  means  of  pay- 
ment, etc,,  belong  to  the  public;  and  society 
depends  upon  their  equitable  management  for  its 
safety  and  advancement. 

To  discriminate  between  what  belongs  to  the  pub- 
lic and  that  which  belongs  to  the  individual,  has 
puzzled  statesmen  in  all  ages.  Why  is  this  not  a 
good  test.  That  which  a man  or  woman  can  do 
unassisted  is  private,  but  all  other  things  are  pub- 
lic and  should  be  made  and  controlled  by  the  pub- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  287 

lie.  Equity  does  not  admit  of  one  person  being 
employed  by  another  in  any  way,  time  or  place, 
but  always  in  any  way  and  in  every  place 
each  individual  should  be  assisted  in  the  line  of 
production  he  or  she  elects,  by  his  or  her  own  agent 
or  the  companies’  director,  and  no  two  or  more 
persons  should  be  permitted  to  form  a co-partner- 
ship or  firm  within  the  corporation.  In  this  way 
every  one  is  forced  to  be  usefully  occupied,  to  stand 
upon  his  or  her  merits,  and  to  be  paid  for  the  qual- 
ity and  quantity  of  the  work  delivered  to  the  agent 
elected  to  receive  and  to  give  credit  for  the  same.  . 

There  is  no  equality,  no  communism,  no  license 
in  this  suggestion.  It  is  a plain  business  proposi- 
tion to  combine  into  one  company  what  has 
heretofore  mostly  been  carried  on  by  separate  in- 
corporated bodies.  Men  and  women  would  en- 
joy more  security,  more  privacy  and  more  liberty 
in  a community  organized  as  suggested,  than  under 
any  government  ever  yet  proposed.  Trustees  of  the 
association  would  simply  conserve  and  utilize  all 
public  things  for  the  use  of  the  public,  and  assist 
the  individual  to  be  comfortable,  useful  and  pro- 
gressive. It  does  not  permit  a person  or  persons 
to  get  a special  law  passed,  that  he  or  they  may  take 
advantage  of  those  who  work,  and  hence,  great  in- 
dividual fortunes  would  not  be  possible. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  a test  to  be  made  of  the 
plan  herein  suggested.  Everywhere,  and  for  every 


288 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


purpose  under  heaven,  we  see  incorporated  com- 
panies in  operation,  and  nine  out  of  every  ten  are 
successful.  The  way  for  the  laboring  men  and  wo- 
men to  apply  these  suggestions  to  practice,  at  once, 
is  plain,  and  may  be  made  easy  if  method  and  dis- 
cipline are  conformed  with. 

In  this  way  slowly,  surely  and  in  a strict  busi- 
ness way,  persons  can  be  taken  from  farms,  factor- 
ies, shops,  counting  houses,  etc.,  and  placed  in 
the  occupations  he  or  she  selects,  under  their  own 
management,  upon  their  own  lands,  in  their  own 
homes,  and  where  direct  interests,  taxes  and  rents 
need  be  unknown. 

In  such  a community  there  need  be  no  drones, 
every  one  can  worship  God  after  his  or  her  own 
wish;  and,  while  compensation  between  man  and 
man  should  not  be  permitted,  rivalry  in  all  useful 
callings  should  be  encouraged:  the  strong  would 
be  attracted  to  assist  the  weak,  and  the  weak  would 
be  glad  to  co-operate  to  the  best  of  their  ability 
with  the  strong,  because  it  would  be  the  interest  of 
each  to  do  so:  poverty  being  unknown,  great  indi- 
vidual riches  would  be  impossible:  and  while  the 
company  would  become  wealthy  and  influential,  the 
individual  would  receive  full,  prompt  and  cash  pay- 
ment for  anything  and  everything  he  or  she  did,  and 
would  be  protected  in  his  and  her  labor,  property 
and  individuality:  and  housed,  instructed,  amused, 
transported  and  entertained  better  and  at  less  cost, 
than  has  yet  been  dreamed  of. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


289 


Such  would  be  evolution  not  revolution:  such 
would  not  interfere  with  any  well-intentioned  person 
on  earth — such  would  be  peace,  prosperity  and  hap- 
piness to  producers  who  organized  to  employ  them- 
selves, to  exchange  their  own  products,  and  to  put 
every  head  of  a family  in  a beautiful  home  free 
from  tax,  rent  and  interest.  “Sweet  Home”  should 
and  can  be  made  a reality  to  every  industrious  man 
and  woman. 

The  suggestion  to  producers  is,  act  for  yourself 
and  be  not  satisfied  with  discussion  and  agitation: 
do  not  rest  with  organization,  but  incorporate — in- 
corporate to  employ  yourself,  to  handle  your  own 
exchanges,  to  own  the  lands  you  improve,  to  grow 
your  own  crops,  to  own  and  occupy  the  houses  you 
build.  In  this  way  you  can  each  have  a home. 


290 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


PRISON  LABOR. 

A GREAT  QUESTION HOW  CONVICTS  ARE  EMPLOYED 

OCCUPATIONS  IN  VARIOUS  PRISONS  WORKING  FOR 

THE  STATE  THE  CONTRACT  SYSTEM THE  LEASE 

PLAN — E.  C.  WINES  ON  THE  CONTRACT  SYSTEM — ITS 

EFFECT ABUSES SHOULD  BE  ABOLISHED LEASES 

AND  FAULTS  THEREOF 57,500  CONVICT  WORKMEN 

PITTED  AGAINST  HONEST  LABOR  DR.  SEAMAN’S 

VIEWS  DEMANDS  OF  THE  PUBLIC  — CARROLL  D. 

weight’s  report — prison  labor  must  not  con- 
flict WITH  INTERESTS  OF  THE  WORKINGMAN. 

What  should  be  done  with  convicts  industrially, 
has  been  a question  ever  since  our  present  peniten- 
tiary systems  were  instituted.  The  distinction  be- 
tween penal,  or  hard  labor  and  industrial  la})or, 
does  not  exist  in  the  United  States  as  in  Englancf. 
The  sentence  of  “hard  labor”  here  simply  means 
industrial  labor.  This  is  an  element  of  good  policy 
and  justice,  because  it  is  right  that  criminals  should 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


291 


do  something  to  reimburse  the  state  for  the  expense 
they  have  incurred  because  of  their  crimes,  and  it 
is  proper,  because  work  is  an  essential  condition  of 
reform. 

All  kinds  of  productive  labor  is  found  in  Ameri- 
can prisons.  In  Texas,  Alabama  and  North  Caro- 
lina the  convicts  build  railroads;  they  raise  cotton 
in  Mississippi,  and  in  New  York  and  Tennessee  they 
work  in  mines;  and  in  many  states  they  do  farm 
work  and  cultivate  vegetables.  Prison  employ- 
ments are  mechanical  except  in  the  South,  and  deal 
with  work  in  the  metals,  wood  and  leather,  though 
a great  deal  of  stone  work  is  done  where  prisons 
are  in  course  of  construction.  At  Auburn,  N.  Y., 
agricultural  tools  are  make  in  large  quantities;  at 
Philadelphia  cell  work  is  done  in  shoemaking,  weav- 
ing, tailoring  and  light  wood  work;  in  Massachu- 
setts, cabinet  making,  brush  and  shoemaking,  and 
work  on  sewing  machines;  an  important  depart- 
ment of  labor  is  making  of  carpenter’s  rules  in  Con- 
necticut; in  Maine,  carriage  manufacturing  is  car- 
ried on  at  a large  scale;  a great  iron  mine  furnishes 
ore  to  the  Northern  New  York  prison,  which  is  smelt- 
ed, forged  and  wrought  into  nails;  leather  tan- 
ning is  the  chief  product  of  the  Michigan  prison, 
chair  making  at  the  Detroit  House  of  Correction, 
and  in  the  Indiana  prison  (South)  the  convicts  are 
mainly  employed  in  building  railway  cars  in  all  its 
branches. 

Two  prisons  weave  wire;  bolts  and  hinges  are 


292 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


made  in  one;  brashes  in  several;  stoves  in  one; 
edge  tools  in  one;  car-wheels  in  one;  iron  work 
(bronzed)  in  one;  cigars  in  five;  machinery  in 
one;  axles  in  one;  moulding  in  three;  chairs 
in  eight;  weaving  in  three;  cabinet  making 
in  six;  farming  implements  in  one,  brooms  in  one; 
cooperage  in  nine;  saddles  and  harness  in  several, 
and  shoes  in  over  a dozen;  while  tailoring,  paint- 
ing, carpentry  and  smithing  in  all. 

At  different  prisons  and  times,  convict  labor 
has  been  employed  in  the  following  systems:  1. 

Working  the  prisoners  for  the  state  in  the  manu- 
facture of  crude  material  furnished  by  the  state. 
2.  The  contract  system.  3.  That  of  leasing  the 
prison  for  a certain  period;  the  lessee  assuming  en- 
tire control  of  both  discipline  and  industries,  and 
furnishing  food,  clothing,  medicine,  etc. 

“The  contract  system,”  saysE,  C.  Wines,  in  his 
‘State  of  Prisons, etc.,’  “obtains in  the  major  part  of 
our  prisons.  In  a few,  perhaps  a tenth  or  eighth  of 
the  whole  number,  the  prison  labor  is  managed  by 
the  prison  administration;  and  this  is  especially  the 
case  when  the  building  or  enlarging  of  a prison  is 
going  on;  There  are  many  objections  to  the  contract 
system  of  prison  labor,  but  it  has  been  found  in  gen- 
eral less  expensive  to  the  government  than  its  man- 
agement by  the  prison  officers.  This  is, no  doubt,  due 
to  the  general  instability  of  our  prison  administra- 
tions. Where  party  politics  dominate  these  admin- 
istrations, and  where,  owing  to  the  fluctuation  of  par- 


THE  "VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


293 


ties,  new  and  inexperienced  men  are  so  often  put 
in  charge  of  our  prisons,  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  so  vast  and  complicated  a machine  as  the  in- 
dustries of  a large  prison  should  be  successfully 
managed  by  them.  Even  under  our  present  sys- 
tem, the  industries  in  prisons  of  moderate  size,  con- 
taining not  more  than  three  hundred  or  four  hun- 
dred inmates,  have  been  and  are  carried  on  by  the 
authorities  with  fair  success.  Take  the  history  of 
the  state  prison  of  Massachusetts  as  an  example — 
a prison  from  which  we  have  financial  returns  for  a 
longer  period  than  from  any  other  in  the  country. 
During  the  sixty-two  years  covered  by  these  re- 
turns, the  prison  has  exhibited  a profit  above  its  ex- 
penses in  twenty -three  years,  and  a deficit  in  thirty- 

nine  years The  first  effect  of  the  contract 

system  is  to  place  for  the  whole  working  day  all  the 
prisoners  contracted  for,  to  a great  extent,  under 
the  control  of  men  with  no  official  responsibility — 
men  who  see  in  the  convicts  only  so  much  machin- 
ery for  making  money:  men  whose  only,  or  at  any 
rate  whose  chief,  recommendation  to  the  positions 
they  hold  in  the  prison  is  that  they  were  the  highest 
bidders  for  the  human  beings  hired  by  them. 
The  second  effect  is  to  introduce  among  the  con- 
victs, as  superintendents  of  their  labor,  strangers 
to  the  prison,  who  are  employed  by  the  contractors 
as  agents,  foremen,  and  in  some  instances  even  la- 
borers— men  entirely  irresponsible — men  selected 
with  little  regard  to  their  moral  character,  and  of- 


294 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ten  without  morals;  men  who  do  not  hesitate  to 
smuggle  liquor  into  the  prison  and  other  contra- 
band articles,  and  sell  them  to  the  convicts  at  an 
increditable  advance  on  their  true  market  value. 
A third  effect  of  the  system,  is  to  set  up  in  the  pris- 
ons-a  power  behind  the  throne  greater  than  the 
throne;  a power  well-nigh  omnipotent  in  its  sphere; 
a power  that  coaxes,  bribes  and  threatens  in  pursuit 
of  its  selfish  ends;  a power  that  makes  and  unmakes 
officers,  imposes  and  remits  fines  through  agents 
whom  it  has  been  able  to  bend  to  its  will,  and  even 
stoops  to  mean  devices  to  get  the  poor  prisoner, 
who  has  incurred  its  wrath,  into  straits  and  difficul- 
ties, that  its  revenge  may  be  gratified  with  the 
sight  of  his  punishment.” 

In  the  lease  system  the  whole  control  of  the  pris- 
on and  its  inmates  is  turned  over  to  the  lessee  whose 
sole  object  is  to  make  money.  The  general  result  of 
the  plan  is,  that  food  and  clothing  are  reduced  to 
the  minimum;  the  strength  of  the  convict  is  tasked 
to  the  utmost  limit  of  human  endurance;  the  prop- 
erty of  the  state  is  neglected  and  injured;  the  pris- 
oners are  held  as  so  many  machines,  and  are  valued 
upon  the  basis  of  the  amount  of  work  they  can  do; 
reformation  is  ignored  and  the  higher  ends  of  dis- 
cipline are  held  for  naught. 

It  was  supposed  when  the  various  industries  were 
introduced  to  prisons  that  the  great  problem  of  what 
to  do  with  convict  labor  was  successfully  solved. 
Convicts  who  worked  at  an  average  of  about  fifty 


HAY  MAKING  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIMES 


wiJiy* 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


297 


cents  a day  produced  certain  articles  which  sold  in 
the  market  at  less  prices  than  the  same  goods  pro- 
duced by  free  labor.  The  consequence  is  plain  to  be 
seen.  Convict  labor  is  pitted  against  honest  labor 
to  the  detriment  of  the  latter.  The  honest  working- 
man must  pay  taxes,  and  the  margin  on  prison  made 
goods  goes  into  the  pockets  of  the  contractors  or 
prison  lessees. 

There  are  in  the  United  States  57,500  convicts 
who  are  daily  engaged  in  competing  with  free  la- 
bor, and  over  one-half  of  them  are  skilled  laborers. 
From  this  source  the  industry  of  the  entire  country 
is  affected.  Every  prison  is  virtually  an  immense  • 
factory  or  workshop,  with  a daily  output  as  against 
the  honest  workingman  who  is  earning  a bare  sub- 
sistance. 

It  is  universally  held  by  legislators  that  this  com- 
petition is  the  foe  of  free  labor,  and  in  many  of  the 
states  the  contract  and  leasing  systems  have  been 
abolished,  but  an  effectual  remedy  for  the  evil  has 
not  been  put  into  actual  practice.  If  labor  is  taxed 
for  the  support  of  penal  institutions,  the  inmates 
should  in  some  way  be  made  to  return  the  expendi- 
ture, and  in  a way  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  free 
labor: 

Dr.  Seaman,  late  chief  of  staff  of  the  Blackwell’s 
Island  hospital  and  penitentiary,  spoke  upon  the 
problem  of  convict  labor  in  a recent  address  before 
the  Medico-Legal  Society.  He  argues  in  favor  of 
the  English  system  of  employing  long  sentence 
20 


298 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


prisoners  on  great  public  works,  such  as  harbor  and 
fortification  making.  An  effort  is  being  made  in 
another  quarter  to  introduce  transportation  to  Alas- 
ka. But  there  is  a third  alternative,  suggested  by 
some  very  common-place  facts,  here  submitted  for 
consideration. 

Society  is,  perhaps  unnecessarily,  afflicted  by  hav- 
ing to  bear  two  enormous  burdens,  costly,  demoral- 
izing and  oppressive.  These  are  (1)  the  maintenance 
of  criminals, and  (2)  the  maintenance  of  widows  and 
orphans  left  destitute  by  “accidents.”  It  is  meant, 
here  particularly,  the  families  of  miners  killed  by 
coalpit  explosions,  which  occur  so  frequently.  Now, 
the  miner  is  probably  the  worthiest  working  citizen 
in  the  commonwealth.  For  our  good  he  submits 
not  only  to  tremendous  toil,  but  to  the  sacrifice  of 
sunlight  and  the  pure  air  of  heaven,  and  cheerfully 
faces  the  risk  of  being  himself  among  the  percent- 
age of  miners  who  every  year  get  killed,  something 
like  one  in  thirty- eight.  We  owe  more  to  the  miner 
man  we  care  to  acknowledge. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  criminal  forfeits  ordinary 
sympathy.  The  worst  class,  criminals  who  have 
just  (unfortunately)  dodged  the  hangman,  society 
pronounces  unfit  to  associate  again  with  the  commu- 
nity for  a long  time,  if  ever;  i.  e.,  society  says  they 
are  unfit  to  live  in  the  world. 

Yet  we  exalt  these  malefactors  to  the  position  of 
state  pensioners,  we  give  them  palatial  residences, 
a costly  staff  of  liveried  servants,  with  all  the  re- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


299 


sources  of  medical  and  sanitary  science  to  prolong 
their  precious  lives  to  the  last  possible  gasp — all  at 
the  expense  of  the  honest,  law  abiding,  virtuous 
taxpayer.  And  the  coal  getter  ? W ell,  we  condemn 
him  to  banishment  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
with  the  tolerably  sure  and  certain  hope  of  an  “ac- 
cidental ” explosion,  with  loss  of  life  or  limb,  and 
the  probable  pauperization  of  widows  and  orphans 
to  follow. 

Suppose,  by  way  of  experimental  reform,  our  all- 
wise legislature  were  to  select  the  life  sentence  con- 
victs of  the  most  worthless  and  repulsive  type,  and 
single  out  also  the  most  dangerous  mines.  Suppose 
they  were  to  place  the  former  in  the  latter,  say,  for 
ten  years’  daily  labor.  If,  in  the  mysterious  work- 
ings of  Providence,  an  explosion  were  to  bereave  us 
of  these  our  erring  brethren,  the  calamity  would 
not  end  the  lives  of  our  honest  and  industrious 
miners,  who  raise  their  families  as  good  citizens. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  saving  in  cost  of  prisons 
would  go  far  to  insure  the  safety  of  our  worthy 
miners  by  providing  better  preventives  of  ‘‘acci- 
dents.” 

The  public  asks  that  prisons  be  made  self-sustain- 
ing, and  at  the  same  time  they  must  not  interfere 
with  free  labor.  As  long  as  the  industrial  system 
is  carried  on  in  penitentiaries  as  at  present,  so  long 
will  their  labor  operate  against  the  outside  work- 
ingman, but  there  is  a medium  wherein  reformation 
and  productive  labor  may  meet.  There  is  no  doubt 


800 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


but  the  “ piece-price  plan  ” is  better  than  all  others, 
as  either  the  state  or  an  individual  may  be  in  con- 
trol. A convict  at  work  is  doing  no  more  than  he 
should  do  if  free,  and  he  certainly  should  be 
obliged  to  support  himself  during  his  incarcera- 
tion. 

If  prison  made  goods  are  to  be  placed  in  the 
market,  they  should  be  sold  at  free  labor  prices, 
and  the  proceeds  should  be  judiciously  expended 
towards  the  accomplishment  of  the  convict’s  reform- 
ation. 

In  the  second  annual  report  of  the  National  Bu- 
reau of  Labor  Statistics,  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Com- 
missioner, reports  in  favor  of  the  state  system,  and 
favors  what  he  calls  the  “ hand-labor  public  ac- 
count system.”  His  conclusion  is  expressed  as  fol- 
lows: 

“Hand-labor  under  the  public  account  system 
offers  many  advantages  over  any  other  that  has 
been  suggested  to  the  bureau.  It  involves  the  car- 
rying on  of  the  industries  of  a prison  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  state,  but  without  the  use  of  power  ma- 
chinery, tools  and  hand  machines  only  being  al- 
lowed, the  goods  to  be  made  to  consist  of  such  arti- 
cles as  boots  and  shoes,  the  coarse  woolen  and  cot- 
ton cloths  needed  for  the  institution  or  for  sale  to 
other  institutions,  harnesses  and  saddlery,  and  ma- 
ny other  goods  now  made  by  machinery  or  not  now 
made  at  all  in  prisons.” 

Whatever  policy  may  be  pursued  in  the  future, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


SOI 


it  is  well  settled  in  tlie  minds  of  the  people,  espec- 
ially the  workingmen,  that  convicts  should  be  em- 
ployed with  the  least  possible  expense  for  machin- 
ery, and  that  their  product  should  be  disposed  of 
so  as  not  to  conflict  with  honest  labor. 


302 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


LIQUOR  AND  THE  WORKINGMAN. 

THE  ENORMOUS  AMOUNT  OF  MONEY  EXPENDED  FOR  LI- 
QUOR  MR.  POWDERLY  ARRAIGNS  THE  DRUNKARD 

HIS  POWERFUL  SPEECH  AT  LYNN,  MASS. HOW  LIQUOR 

PRODUCES  POVERTY FIFTEEN  MILLION  PEOPLE  SPEND 

SEVEN  HUNDRED  MILLION  DOLLARS  ANNUALLY  FOR 

LIQUOR LIQUOR  COSTS  THE  PEOPLE  THREE  TIMES  AS 

MUCH  AS  CLOTHING INTEMPERANCE  A CURSE  TO  THE 

WORKINGMAN. 

In  an  article  on  prohibition  of  the  sale  and  man- 
ufacture of  liquor,  a writer  in  a leading  southern 
paper  says,  as  a matter  of  dollars  and  cents,  the 
question  of  a tariff  for  revenue  or  protection,  the  fi- 
nancial policy  and  all  others  combined,  pale  into 
utter  insignificance  compared  with  the  amount  of 
money  that  is  annually  expended  for  that  which  de- 
stroys the  peace  of  thousands  of  happy  homes, 
brings  degradation  and  want,  brings  the  unfortu- 
nate victims  to  premature  graves,  and  consigns  them 
to  an  endless  hell — from  the  best  statistical  inform- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOB. 


303 


ation  obtainable  about  nine  hundred  millions  annu- 
ally for  alcoholic  drinks,  all  of  which  comes  out  of 
the  pockets  of  the  consumers.  Estimating  from  all 
sources — federal,  state  and  municipal — the  revenue 
derivable  from  this  source,  on  the  sale  only,  amounts 
to  about  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

Mr.  Powderly  in  a speech  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  said: 
“Ten  years  ago  I was  hissed  because  I advised 
men  to  let  strong  drink  alone.  They  threatened  to 
rotten  egg  me.  I have  continued  to  advise  men  to 
be  temperate,  and  though  I have  had  no  experience 
that  would  qualify  me  to  render  an  opinion  on  the 
efficacy  of  a rotten  egg  as  an  ally  of  the  rum  drink- 
er, yet  I would  prefer  to  have  my  exterior  decorat- 
ed from  summit  to  base  with  the  rankest  kind  of 
rotten  eggs,  rather  than  allow  one  drop  of  liquid 
villainy  to  pass  my  lips,  or  have  the  end  of  my 
nose  illuminated  by  a blossom  that  follows  a plant- 
ing of  the  seeds  of  hatred,  envy,  malice  and  dam- 
nation, all  of  which  are  represented  in  a solitary 
glass  of  gin. 

Ten  years  ago  the  cause  of  temperance  was  not 
so  respectable  as  it  is  to-day,  because  there  were 
not  so  many  respectable  men  and  women  advocat- 
ing it.  It  has  gained  ground;  it  is  gaining  ground, 
and  all  because  men  and  women  who  believe  in  it 
could  not  be  browbeaten  or  frightened.  Neither 
the  hissing  of  serpents  nor  the  throwing  of  rotten 
eggs  has  stopped  or  even  delayed  the  march  of 
temperance  among  the  workers. 


304  THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 

Why  do  I so  bitterly  arraign  the  poor  drunkard? 
For  the  reason  that  he  is  a drunkard,  and  because 
he  has  made  himself  poor  through  his  love  of  drink. 
Did  I or  any  other  man,  rob  him  of  the  money  he 
has  squandered  in  drink;  did  I make  him  poor,  the 
vilest  names  that  tongue  can  frame  would  be  ap- 
plied to  me.  Must  I stand  idly  by  and  remain 
silent  while  he  robs  himself  ? Did  he  rob  only  him- 
self it  would  not  make  so  much  difference'.  He  robs 
parents,  wife  and  children.  He  robs  his  aged  fath- 
er and  mother  through  love  of  drink.  He  gives  for 
rum  what  should  go  for  their  support.  When  they 
murmur  he  turns  them  from  his  'door,  and  points 
his  contaminating  drunken  finger  toward  the  poor- 
house.  He  next  turns  toward  his  wife  and  robs  her 
of  what  should  be  devoted  to  the  keeping  of  her 
home  in  comfort  and  plenty.  He  robs  her  of  her 
wedding  ring  and  pawns  it  for  drink.  He  turns  his 
daughter  from  his  door  in  a fit  of  drunken  anger 
and  drives  her  to  the  house  of  prostitution,  and 
then  accepts  from  her  hand  the  proceeds  of  her 
shame.  To  satisfy  his  love  of  drink  he  takes  the 
price  of  his  child’s  virtue  and  innocence  from  her 
sin  stained,  lust  bejeweled  fingers,  and  with  it  tot- 
ters to  the  bar  to  pay  it  to  the  man  who  “does  not 
deny  the  justice  of  my  position.”  I don’t  arraign 
the  man  who  drinks  because  he  is  poor,  but  because 
through  being  a slave  to  drink  he  has  made  him- 
self and  family  poor.  I do  not  hate  the  man  who 
drinks,  for  I have  carried  drunken  men  to  their 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


305 


homes  on  my  back,  rather  than  allow  them  to  re- 
main exposed  to  inclement  weather.  I do  not  hate 
the  drunkard — he  is  what  drink  has  effected,  and 
while  I do  not  hate  the  effect,  I abhor  and  loathe 
the  cause. 

Take  the  list  of  labor  societies  of  America,  and 
the  total  sum  paid  into  their  treasuries  from  all 
sources  from  their  organization  to  the  present  time 
will  not  exceed  $5,000,000.  The  Knights  of  Labor 
is  the  largest  and  most  influential  of  them  all,  and 
though  so  much  has  been  said  concerning  the  vast 
amount  of  money  that  has  been  collected  from  the 
members,  yet  the  total  sum  levied  and  collected  for 
all  purposes — per  capita  tax,  assistance  fund,  ap- 
peals, assessment,  insurance  and  co-operation — up 
to  the  present  time  will  not  exceed  more  than 
$800,000. 

The  total  sum  collected  for  the  first  nine  years  of 
the  existence  of  the  general  assembly  was  but  $500,- 
724.14.  In  nine  years  less  than  $600,000  were 
collected  to  uplift  humanity  to  a higher  plane,  and 
to  bring  the  workers  to  a realizing  sense  of  their 
actual  condition  in  life.  It  took  less  than  $600,- 
000  to  teach  the  civilized  world  that  workingmen 
could  build  up  an  organization  that  could  shed  such 
light  upon  the  doings  of  landlords,  bond-lords,  mo- 
nopolists and  other  trespassers  of  the  domain  of 
popular  rights,  that  they  were  forced  to  halt  for  a 
time  and  stand  up  to  explain.  Less  than  $600,000 
j(not  a dollar  unaccounted  for),  and  on  the  statute 


306 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


books  of  the  nation  will  you  find  the  impress  of  the 
workingman’s  hand.  On  the  law  book  of  every 
state  can  be  traced  the  doing  of  labor’s  representa- 
tives. Less  than  $600,000  to  create  a revolution 
greater,  further  reaching  in  its  consequences  and 
more  lasting  in  its  benefits,  than  the  revolution 
which  caused  the  streets  of  the  towns  and  cities  of 
France  to  run  red  with  human  blood  less  than  a 
century  ago.  Less  than  $600,000  to  make  men  fear 
and  believe  that  woman’s  work  should  equal  that  of 
the  man.  Less  than  $600,000  to  educate  men  and  wo- 
men to  believe  that  “moral  worth  and  not  wealth  is 
the  true  standard  of  individual  and  national  great- 
ness.” Less  than  $600,000  to  cause  every  newspaper 
in  the  land  to  speak  of  the  work  being  done  by  the 
Knights  of  Labor — some  of  them  speaking  in  abu- 
sive terms,  and  others  speaking  words  of  praise,  ac- 
cording to  the  interests  represented  by  the  papers 
or  according  as  the  work  done  harmonized  with  the 
principles  of  the  order. 

In  one  day  an  employer’s  association  organizes 
and  pledges  itself  to  contribute  $5,000,000  to  fight 
labor.  The  next  day  the  papers  are  almost  silent 
on  that  point,  but  are  filled  to  the  brim  with  lurid  ac- 
counts of  the  reckless  autocratic  manner  in  which  the 
officers  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  levy  a 25-cent  as- 
sessment to  keep  over  1,000  locked  out  men  and 
women  from  starvation.  Putting  two  and  two  to- 
gether, it  is  not  hard  to  guess  why  papers  that 
applauded  the  action  of  the  employers  in  one  col- 


AMONG  THE  BOTTLE  BLOWERS. 


•'-..V  -O'  , N 


/ 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


309 


limn  should  in  another  column  advise  the  workers 
not  to  pay  the  twenty-five  cent  assessment.  $600,000 
for  sober  men  to  use  in  education  and  self-improve- 
ment. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  other  side.  In  the  city  of 
New  York  alone  it  is  estimated  that  not  less  than 
$250,000  a day  are  spent  for  drink,  $1,500,000  in 
one  week,  $75,000,000  in  one  year.  Who  will  dis- 
pute it  when  I say  that  one-half  of  the  policemen  of 
New  York  city  are  employed  to  watch  the  beings  who 
squander  $75,000,000  a year?  Who  will  dispute  it 
when  I say  the  money  spent  in  paying  the  salaries 
and  expenses  of  one-half  of  the  police  of  New  York 
could  be  saved  to  the  taxpayers  if  $75, 000, 000  were 
not  devoted  to  making  drunkards,  thieves,  prosti- 
tutes, and  other  subjects  for  the  policeman’s  net  to 
gather  in?  If  $250,000  go  over  the  counters  of  the 
rum-seller  in  one  day  in  New  York  city  alone,  who 
will  dare  to  assert  that  the  workingmen  to-day  do 
not  pay  one-fifth,  or  $50,000,  of  that  sum? 

If  workingmen  in  New  York  city  spend  $50,000 
a day  for  drink,  they  spend  $300,000  a week,  leav- 
ing Sunday  out.  In  one  month  they  spend  $1,200,- 
000—  over  twice  as  much  money  as  was  paid  into  the 
general  assembly  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  in  nine 
years.  In  six  weeks  they  spend  $1,800,000 — near- 
ly three  times  as  much  money  as  that  army  of  organ- 
ized workers,  the  Knights  of  Labor,  have  spent  from 
the  day  the  general  assembly  was  first  called  to  or- 
der up  to  the  present  day;  and  in  one  year  the  work- 


310 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


ingmen  of  New  York  city  will  have  spent  for  beer 
and  rum  $15,600,000,  or  enough  to  purchase  and 
equip  a first-class  line  of  their  own — $15,600,000, 
enough  money  to  invest  in  such  co-operation  as 
would  forever  end  the  strike  and  lockout  as  a means 
of  settling  disputes  in  labor  circles. 

A single  county  in  Pennsylvania,  so  I am  inform- 
ed, spent  in  one  year  $17,000,000  for  drink.  That 
county  contains  the  largest  industrial  population, 
comparatively,  of  any  in  the  state.  $11,000,000  of 
the  $17,000,000  come  from  the  pockets  of  working- 
men. New  York  city,  in  one  year,  contributes  $15,- 
600,000  to  keep  men  and  women  in  poverty,  hunger 
and  cold,  while  one  county  in  Pennsylvania  adds 
$11,000,000,  making  a total  of  $26,600,000. 

I am  not  a fanatic — I do  not  damn  the  man  who 
sells  liquor.  1 have  nothing  against  him.  Many  men 
who  now  sell  liquor  were  once  workingmen,  and 
were  victimized  through  a strike  or  lockout.  I would 
not  injure  a hair  of  their  heads,  but  I would  so  edu- 
cate workingmen  that  they  would  never  enter  a sa- 
loon. Then  the  money  saved  from  rum,  and  rum 
holes,  would  go  to  purchase  necessaries,  and  such  an 
increased  stimulus  would  be  given  to  trade  that  the 
rum-seller  could  return  to  an  honest  way  of  making 
a living. 

I may  be  taken  to  task  for  being  severe  on  the 
workingmen.  It  may  be  said  that  I slander  them 
even.  If  to  tell  the  truth  is  to  be  severe,  then  on 
this  one  question  I hope  some  day  to  be  severity  it- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


311 


self:  but  I speak  to  workingmen,  because  it  is  in 
their  welfare  that  I am  interested.  I have  not  been 
delegated  to  watch  or  guard  the  fortunes  of  million- 
aires, and  in  no  way  can  I hope  to  accomplish  any- 
thing until  I state  my  policy  freely  and  frankly  to 
those  I represent.  We  are  seeking  to  reform  existing 
evils.  We  must  first  reform  ourselves.” 

In  the  report  issued  in  July,  1887,  by  the  Bureau 
of  Statistics,  at  Washington,  it  is  shown  that  the  to- 
tal annual  expenditure  for  liquors  at  retail  in  the 
United  States  is  seven  hundred  milllion  dollars, 
and  that  the  drinking  population  is  about  fifteen 
million  persons.  In  1880  (last  census)  the  total  pro- 
duct of  our  four  great  industries  were,  viz. : 

Clothing $241,553,254 

Cotton  goods 210,950,383 

Woolen  goods 100,606,721 

Iron  and  steel 296,557,685 

By  comparison  we  see  that  the  amount  of  money 
spent  for  liquor  was  more  than  three  times  greater 
than  that  expended  for  readymade  clothing:  that  it 
was  in  excess  of  the  value  of  the  total  combined  pro- 
duct of  the  cotton,  woolen,  and  iron  and  steel  indus- 
tries, and  not  much  less  than  the  value  of  the  pro- 
duct of  all  four  of  the  industries  named.  Of  the 
fifteen  million  people  who  wasted  this  vast  sum, each 
man  expended  nearly  one  dollar  a week  in  gratifying 
abase  appetite.  Every  dollar  of  all  this  money  was 
just  as  much  wasted  as  if  it  had  been  dumped  in  the 
ocean.  Indeed,  such  disposition  of  it  would  have 


312 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


been  wise  economy  compared  with  that  which  was 
really  made  of  it,  for  only  the  first  cost  of  the  rum 
appears  in  the  sum  of  $700,000,000. 

Probably  the  amount  would  be  increased  more 
than  fifty  per  cent  if  we  should  ascertain  the  cost  of 
the  crime,  pauperism,  and  insanity  which  always 
follow  the  product  of  the  rum  traffic.  Now,  sup- 
pose all  this  money,  three  times  the  value  of  the  to- 
. tal  iron  product  of  the  country,  had  been  expended 
for  things  useful,  comfortable,  and  necessary,  does 
any  man  believe  there  would  be  complaint  of  over- 
production? Would  any  laborer  who  wanted  to  work 
be  forced  into  idleness?  Is  it  not  clear  that  there 
would  be  such  a stimulus  for  business  as  would  give 
to  this  country  prosperity  more  than  at  any  time 
in  the  past,  with  good  wages  for  work.  The  great 
majority  of  these  fifteen  million  people  are  work- 
ingmen. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


313 


\ 


CHAPTEK  XXI. 


THE  FAKMER  AND  HIS  INTERESTS. 

CAPITAL  DRIFTING  AWAY  FROM  AGRICULTURE  THE 

LABOR  QUESTION  LINKED  WITH  THE  FARMER HON. 

W.  F.  SADLER  BEFORE  THE  GRANGE AN  ABLE  DIS- 

COURSE — A STARTLING  ARRAY  OF  FACTS  AND  FIG- 
URES  THE  AVARICE  OF  CAPITAL MR.  JOHN  NORRIS 

ON  RAILROAD  MONOPOLY  CHARLES  SEARS5  MEAS- 
URES  A BALEFUL  WARNING MR.  CHARLES  SEARS5 

EXPOSITION  OF  TRUTHS  — PUBLIC  CARRIERS  AND 

MONEY  LOANERS  ARE  ABSORBING  CAPITAL A PEACE' 

FUL  MODE  OF  ADJUSTMENT MEASURES  AND  REME- 
DIES  UNITED  EFFORT  BY  REFORM  PARTIES  NEC- 
ESSARY TO  SUCCESS LABOR  ASCENDING  THE  THRONE 

OF  POLITICS. 

The  gradual  drifting  of  capital  from  agriculture  to 
industrial  centers,  during  the  past  fifty  years,  has 
produced  its  effect.  Farming  to-day  is  not  the  pay- 
ing vocation  it  has  been,  and  the  true  wealth  of  the 
nation  is  suffering  from  a great  shrinkage  on  ac- 
count of  the  farmer’s  inability  to  reap  his  due  meas- 
ure of  products.  Linked  with  the  interests  of  our 
21 


314: 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


farmers  are  the  interests  of  trade,  manufacturing, 
commerce,  and  the  welfare  of  the  entire  country. 

Inseparably  connected  with  the  great  question  of 
labor,  which  has  been  forced  to  the  surface  of  the 
stream  of  current  affairs,  is  the  depressed  condition 
of  agriculture. 

Hon.  W.  F.  Sadler,  in  speaking  before  the  Grange 
inter-state  exhibition,  1886,  said:  “ While  the  pre- 
eminence of  the  importance  of  agriculture  over  that 
of  any  other  art  of  man  has  always  existed  in  fact, 
yet  it  will  be  conceded  that  it  has  been  slow  in  se- 
curing deserved  recognition  and  rightful  apprecia- 
tion: It  will  be  also  agreed  by  the  intelligent  and 

observant,  that  as  its  true  relations  to  the  other  oc- 
cupations is  becoming  thus  more  properly  under- 
stood, the  propriety,  desirability  and  necessity  that 
it  should  be  thoroughly  studied,  wisely  practiced, 
and  it  needs  have  due  regard  become  the  more  ap- 
parent. It  has  not  only  long  been,  as  it  now  is, 
the  chief  subsistence  of  the  race,  but  its  prosperity 
has  had  an  intimate  relation  to  the  progression  of 
the  latter.  Indeed,  in  the  rudimentary  tilling  of 
the  soil  the  individual  could  only  produce  bread  for 
himself  and  family,  and  there  was,  therefore,  no 
surplus  human  force  to  make  development  possible 
in  other  lines. 

Men  could  only  devote  brain  and  energy  and 
muscle  to  the  other  human  pursuits  which  character- 
ize our  modern  civilization,  when  less  than  the 
whole  number  could  provide  food  for  the  whole. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  315 

It  needs  no  demonstration  to  show  that  the  fewer 
of  the  population  required  for  the  one  purpose  the 
more  can  be  employed  in  others,  and  also  that 
the  more  perfect  system  of  agriculture  the  less  num- 
ber of  persons  will  be  needed  to  furnish  the  produc- 
tion necessary  for  supply. 

To-day  the  crops  seem  to  be  the  business  barom- 
eter of  our  nation.  Trade  halts  until  it  learns  what 
their  condition  is.  The  4 bulls’  and  4 bears’  of  our 
great  commercial  centres  alike  listen  with  bated 
breath,  while  the  telegraph  tells  of  the  growing,  gath- 
ering, garnering  and  yield  of  the  harvest  fields  of 
the  land.  Upon  them  the  railroad  is  dependent  for 
freight,  the  banker  for  exchange,  the  country  for 
exports,  and  the  whole  world  for  bread. 

Their  abundance,  in  short,  is  the  harbinger  of 
business  prosperity,  while  their  failure  is  the  pre- 
cursor of  diminished  trade,  if  not  of  pecuniary  dis- 
tress. 

Besides,  it  claims  special  attention  on  account  of 
the  multitudes  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil.  Of  all  those  enlisted  in  occupations  in  the 
United  States  more  than  forty-four  per  cent  are 
enumerated  in  our  last  census  as  being  agricultur- 
alists. So  that,  in  addition  to  the  relative  import  of 
this  industry,  there  is  the  immediate  dependence 
upon  it  of  a much  larger  factor  of  our  population 
than  upon  that  of  any  other.  It  may  be  safely  as- 
sumed, I think,  that  more  than  one-half  of  all  our 
male  population  of  an  age  fit  to  work  are  engaged 


316 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


in  producing  crops,  and  in  the  transportation  and 
delivery  of  them  to  the  consumer. 

There  has  been  too  little  of  this  in  the  past — 
there  is  not  enough  at  the  present.  The  Thom- 
ases, Piollets  and  Rhones  of  the  Granger  move- 
ment have  done  much  to  infuse  a proper  spirit  in 
this  respect  into  the  farmer — but  much  remains 
to  be  accomplished.  It  is  time  that  there  was  less 
of  humility  on  part  of  those  who  cultivate  the  soil, 
and  more  pride.  It  has  too  long  been  considered 
degrading  to  dig.  The  tiller  of  the  soil  does  the 
most  beneficial  work  of  man,  and  the  regard  of  so- 
ciety for  his  labor  should  be  proportionate  in  de- 
gree. It  may  also  be  observed  that  a proper  esti- 
mate by  the  farmer  of  his  own  calling  will  tend  to 
insure  a juster  one  by  others,  and  would  be  pro- 
ductive as  well  on  his  part  of  an  assertiveness,  justi- 
fied by  the  position  which  should  be  accorded  to, 
taken  and  maintained  by  those  upon  the  skill  and 
productivity  of  whose  toil  annually  depends  the 
chief  food  of  all  the  people.  The  husbandman’s 
boys  would  also  more  highly  regard  the  father’s  oc- 
cupation if  he  himself  accorded  to  it  due  consider- 
ation, and  there  would  thus  likely  be  less  anxiety 
on  their  part  to  seek  other  employments. 

While  press  and  forum  and  party  platform  prop- 
erly vie  in  the  attention  given  to  the  grievances, 
wants  and  rights  of  the  employers  of  our  great 
manufacturing,  mining  and  mechanical  industries, 
it  were  well  to  remember  that  the  cultivators  of  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


317 


soil  also  have  wrongs,  and  wants,  and  rights,  entitl- 
ed to  a high  and  present  regard — the  laborers  among 
them  nearly  equaling  those  in  the  departments  al- 
luded to.  That  while  the  nation’s  brain  throbs  with 
speculations  and  plans,  as  to  how  content  may  come 
to  the  hand  at  the  factory  and  shop,  and  by  what 
method  of  computation  a fair  distribution  of  the 
earnings  of  labor  and  capital  may  be  allotted  be- 
tween employer  and  employe,  it  must  not  be  forgot- 
ten that  the  husbandmen  are  a craft  of  workmen, 
not  only  more  ancient  in  its  institution,  mightier  in 
its  proportions,  and  more  essential  to  society’s  well 
being,  as  well  as  to  existence  of  mankind,  but  also 
that  problems,  numerous,  complicated  and  fraught 
with  the  highest  importance  to  their  welfare,  demand 
consideration. 

Some  of  these  are  even  now  invoking  the  con- 
cern and  affecting  the  interests  of  the  farmer,  espec- 
ially of  the  Eastern  states — such  as  the  rates  at 
which  these  products  shall  be  transported  to  mar- 
ket, while  others,  more  serious,  as  how  land  shall  be 
held  and  how  let  to  the  tenant,  are  eliciting  not 
only  the  attention,  but  affecting  the  prosperity,  dis- 
turbing the  quiet  and  imperiling  the  peace  of  the 
most  powerful  as  well  as  the  wisest  nation  on  the 
globe,  and  for  which  no  method  of  solution  has  yet 
been  found.” 

It  is  pertinent  at  all  times  to  scrutinize  our  sur- 
roundings, and  a glance  backward  over  the  road  we 
have  traveled  never  does  harm.  What  progress  we 


318 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


have  made  is  a subject  well  worth  examining.  How 
has  the  farmer  and  wage-worker  been  affected  by 
the  absorption  of  railroads,  by  pools  and  by  monop- 
olies ? A glance  at  results  tells  the  tale.  A dollar 
invested  in  one  of  the  largest  and  most  productive 
states  (Pennsylvania)  in  1880,  yielded  a smaller  re- 
turn than  in  any  of  the  other  states.  Pennsylvania 
has  thousands  of  miles  of  railroads. 

Percentage  of  Farm  Production  to  Farm 
Value  in  1880, 


NORTH  ATLANTIC  GROUP. 


Maine,  - 

- .21 

Connecticut, 

- .15 

New  Hampshire, 

.17 

New  York,  - 

.16  4-5 

Vermont, 

- .20 

New  Jersey 

- .15* 

Massachusetts,  - 

.16* 

Pennsylvania, 

.13  1-5 

Rhode  Island,  - 

- .14 

SOUTH  ATLANTIC  GROUP. 


Delaware, 

- .17 

North  Carolina, 

- .38 

Maryland, 

- .17 

South  Carolina,  - 

.61 

District  of  Columbia  .14 

Georgia,  - 

- .59 

NORTHERN  CENTRAL  GROUP. 

Ohio,  - 

- .14 

Iowa,  - 

- .24 

Indiana,  - 

i 

00 

Missouri,  - 

.25 

THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR. 


319 


NORTHERN  CENTRAL  GROUP — CONTINUED. 


Illinois, 

- .20 

Dakota, 

- .25 

Michigan, 

00 

Nebraska, 

.29 

Wisconsin, 

o 

CM 

i 

Kansas, 

- .22 

Minnesota, 

- .25 

SOUTHERN  CENTRAL  GROUP. 

Kentucky, 

- .21 

Louisiana,  - 

- .71 

Tennessee, 

- .30 

Texas, 

.38 

Alabama, 

1 

1 

Arkansas, 

- 59 

Mississippi, 

- .68 

WESTERN 

GROUP. 

Montana, 

- .62 

Nevada, 

- .52 

Wyoming, 

- .44 

Idaho, 

.54 

Colorado, 

- .20 

Washington  Ter. 

- .30 

New  Mexico 

, - .34 

Oregon,  - 

.23 

Arizona, 

California,  - 

- .22 

Utah,  - 

- .23 

Each  combination  of  capital  makes  the  working- 
man more  dependent,  and  renders  it  the  more  diffi- 
cult for  the  small  manufacturer  to  conduct  his  busi- 
ness. By  glancing  over  the  census  report  of  1880, 
it  is  apparent  that  centralization  of  capital  is  crowd- 
ing out  the  workingmen  by  reducing  the  number  of 
establishments. 


320 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


REDUCTION  IN  NUMBER  OF  MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISH- 
MENTS FROM  18 VO  to  1880. 


State. 

1870. 

1880.  Reduction. 

Pennsylvania, 

- 37,300 

31,232 

5,968 

Missouri, 

11,871 

8,502 

3,279. 

Ohio, 

- 22,773 

20,699 

2,074 

Maine, 

5,550 

4,481 

1,069 

Louisiana,  - 

- 2,557 

1,553 

1,004 

Tennessee, 

3,317 

4,326 

991 

Indiana, 

- 11,847 

11,198 

649 

Connecticut,  - 

5,128 

4,488 

640 

Michigan,  - 

- 9,455 

8,873 

582 

Vermont, 

3,270 

2,874 

396 

Mississippi, 

- 1,731 

1,479 

252 

Georgia, 

3,836 

3,503 

243 

Florida, 

659 

426 

233 

Virginia, 

5,933 

5,710 

223 

New  Hampshire, 

- 3,342 

3,181 

161 

Nevada, 

330 

184 

146 

Alabama,  - 

- 2,188 

2,070 

. 118 

West  Virginia, - 

2,444 

2,375 

69 

Kentucky,  - 

- 5,300 

5,328 

62 

Delaware, 

800 

746 

54 

“ On  every  side  we  see,”  writes  Mr.  John  Mor- 
ris, of  the  “ Philadelphia  Daily  Record,”  “ that 
wealth  and  power  are  drifting  into  few  hands.  W e 
find  traces  of  this  condition  not  only  in  railroad 
consolidations  but  in  the  coal  combination,  the  coke 
syndicate,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 


!%\ 


L 


HON.  JOHN  SEITZ, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  323 

the  Standard  Oil  Company,  and  the  hundred  other 
parasites  of  our  railroads.  We  find  combinations 
of  capital  against  which  the  individual  is  helpless, 
creating  classes  that  are  fabulously  rich  and  classes 
that  are  shockingly  poor.  We  find  deepening  want 
with  increasing  wealth.  Individual  enterprise  has 
given  way  to  the  corporations.  The  factory  is  su- 
perseding the  mechanic,  and  the  larger  farm  is  ab- 
sorbing the  smaller  farm. 

“We  find  some  few  natural  monopolies  due  to 
invention  and  to  healthy  business  enterprise,  and 
we  find  many  artificial  monopolies  that  are  due  to 
special  and  discriminating  rates  and  to  the  evils  that 
characterized  our  railroad  policy.  The  harmony 
and  symmetry  of  our  development  has  been  dis- 
turbed by  these  improper  influences',  A condition 
of  affairs  has  been  created  which  will  soon  become 
intolerable.  In  view  of  these  appalling  facts  is 
there  not  a necessity  for  arousing  the  public  con- 
science ? Is  there  not  a necessity  for  warning  the 
people  against  these  baleful  tendencies  of  the 
times  ? ” 

Mr.  Charles  Sears,  in  an  able  essay  on  the  causes 
of  the  financial  and  industrial  depression  of  the 
times,  says: 

“ Taxes  are  finally  liquidated  with  products* 
There  are  no  other  means  of  payment.  The  accu- 
mulated wealth  of  cities,  towns  and  country  is  sur- 
plus product.  The  rate  of  accumulation  is  estimated 
at  about  three  per  cent  annually. 


324 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


“From  tables  of  statistics  it  appears  that  in  the 
western  states  about  three-fourths  of  the  farms  are 
mortgaged  for  one-third  to  three-fourths  of  their 
current  value  ; and  that  this  class  of  debt  bears  in- 
terest at  seven  to  twelve  per  cent  yearly;  and  that 
it  is  rapidly  increasing,  as  it  must  do,  for  the  rates 
c>f  interest  paid  exceed  the  rate  of  property  in- 
crease. The  farmers,  therefore,  are  contributing 
more  than  their  surplus  to  the  sum  of  wealth,  they 
trench  upon  the  capital,  and  consequently,  are 
steadily  passing  out  of  the  ranks  of  independent 
citizens  into  a class  of  tenant  farmers,  or  that  of 
wage-workers.  Can  this,  in  any  sense,  be  deemed 
a safe  state  of  affairs  ? 

“Why  do  farmers  have  to  borrow  money?  Be- 
cause their  produce  will  not  pay  the  cost  of  produce 
tion.  Why  are  prices  realized  by  farmers  so  low? 
A chief  reason  is  the  cost  of  transportation  of  pro- 
ducts. The  average  cost  of  transportation  is  stated 
to  be  a fraction  less  than  five  mills  per  ton  per  mile. 
The  prices  exacted  and  paid  range  from  three  to 
six  times  that  rate.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the 
transportation  companies  and  money  lenders  are 
absorbing  not  only  the  surplus  of  production,  but 
capital  also;  and  that  with  the  present  rates  of  in- 
terest and  freight,  the  production  of  grain,  cattle, 
horses,  wool,  cotton,  etc.,  are,  economically  consid- 
ered, impossible  industries. 

“The  government  has  delegated,  by  charter,  the 
power  to  Banking  Corporations  to  issue  money  and 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  325 

control  the  circulating  volume  and  thereby  deter- 
mine the  rate  of  interest;  to  railroad  companies  the 
power  to  tax  the  public  ‘ what  the  traffic  will 
bear.’  Between  these  two  the  producer  ofrawma- 
terial  is  confiscated,  for  with  high  rates  of  interest 
and  high  freight  rates  his  property  is  confiscated, 
and  this  through  chartered  privilege.  He  might  as 
well  be  out  of  the  world  as  without  property. 

“This  is  an  unsafe  condition,  an  unjust  relation  of 
producer,  middlemen  and  consumer.  It  is  a con- 
dition which  cannot  endure,  for  in  the  end,  proper- 
ty acquired  without  rendering  a fair  equivalent  is 
an  unsafe  possession.  An  adjustment,  in  which  the 
equities  shall  be  considered,  must  come,  either 
peacefully  or  through  violence. 

“When  class  rises  against  class  in  desperation, 
reason  is  in  abeyance,  passion  rules.  The  steady 
drain  of  property  from  producer  to  the  coffers  of 
transportation  companies  and  bankers  is  disinteg- 
rating society — dividing  it  into  rich  and  poor,  a state 
we  are  rapidly  approaching — that  of  distinctly  de- 
fined classes.  This  is  the  direct  road  to  violent  re- 
clamations. 

“A  peaceful  mode  of  adjustment  would  be  for  the 
government  to  acquire  possession  of  the  railroads  at 
a fair  valuation  and  manage  them  at  cost.  This 
would  put  railroads  on  the  same  footing  as  are 
country  roads — both  would  be  public  property  and 
both  maintained  at  cost. 

u Another  measure  tending  toward  a peaceful  is- 


320 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


sue  from  dangerous  wants  would  be  tlie  issue  of 
money  direct  to  the  people  on  their  own  securities, 
repayable  in  five  per  cent  yearly  installments  with 
yearly  interest  at  three  per  cent,  which  would  be 
part  of  the  public  revenue,  divided  equally  to  the 
treasuries  of  the  counties,  the  state  and  the  general 
government,  and  be  so  much  in  lieu  of  taxes. 

“A  still  further  measure  tending  in  the  same  di- 
rection would  be  the  organization  of  production  and 
exchange  in  the  interest  of  producer  and  consumer. 
These  measures  would  save  us  from  impending 
bankruptcy  and  perhaps  a worse  condition,  for  they 
leave  to  the  producer  the  fruit  of  his  labor  and  so 
remove  the  causes  of  discontent.” 

The  stumbling  block  to  reform  movements  here- 
tofore, has  been  in  a lack  of  united  effort  and  the 
consolidation  of  different  parties.  Petty  factions 
and  egotistical  opinions  have  served  to  prevent  a 
national  union  of  workingmen,  and  results  have  been 
of  little  value. 

Labor  is  ascending  the  throne  of  politics,  but  un- 
til it  fully  comprehends  the  power  of  the  ballot,  and 
presents  a united  front  at  the  polls,  it  will  never 
grasp  the  sceptre. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


FOREIGNERS  AND  FOREIGNERS. 

THE  IMMIGRATION  OF  TO-DAY  A GREAT  EVIL 500,000 

IMMIGRANTS  IN  1887 OFFICIAL  FIGURES OYER 

8,000,000  ALIENS  IN  THIS  COUNTRY A FLOOD  OF 

PAUPERS  AND  CRIMINALS  TAINTING  THE  NATION- — 

H.  H.  BOYESEN  ON  UNRESTRICTED  IMMIGRATION THE 

EVIL  OF  ANARCHY  AND  COMMUNISM  ONE  OF  THE 

CURSES  OF  THE  FOUL  STREAM SUMMARY  LEGISLATION 

A JUST  DEMAND  OF  WORKINGMEN  AMERICAN  LA- 
BOR MENACED  BY  FOREIGN  IMMIGRATION  HOSTILE 

SENTIMENT  THROUGHOUT  THE  LAND A QUESTION  OF 

THE  DAY. 

The  workingmen  of  the  United  States  have 
awakened  to  the  fact  that  a great  evil  lurks  in  the 
tide  of  immigration  which  has  so  long  set  in  upon 
this  country.  X otwithstanding  the  extended  lim- 
its of  our  domain  there  is  a feeling  that  we  are 
crowded,  especially  in  large  cities. 

The  huge  ocean  steamers  daily  land  at  their  docks, 
and  thousands  of  the  substratum  of  European  hm 


328 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


inanity  swarm  from  their  gangways.  To  this  unre- 
stricted immigration  is  justly  attributed  one  of  the 
disturbing  elements  which  has  much  to  do  with  the 
problem  labor  is  endeavoring  to  solve.  Since  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed,  over  four- 
teen millions  of  immigrants  have  crossed  the 
ocean  and  made  their  homes  in  the  United 
States. 

The  increase  in  immigration  in  May,  1887,  was 
28,400  over  the  same  month  of  the  preceding  year, 
and  the  increase  in  the  eleven  months  ending  with 
May,  was  133,600.  This  means  that  over  half  a 
million  foreigners  have  come  to  this  country  during 
the  last  fiscal  year.  The  official  reports  do  not 
giv^e  the  number  from  Canada  and  Mexico  across 
the  border,  and  the  number  of  such  immigrants  is 
known  to  be  considerable.  In  1884-5,  the  last 
year  for  which  it  was  officially  reported,  this  immi- 
gration was  38,614;  with  the  general  decline  in  im- 
migration last  year  it  may  have  fallen  to  30,000,  but 
with  the  general  increase  this  year  it  has  probably 
risen  to  40,000  or  more. 

The  most  accurate  computation  for  the  increase 
of  population  during  twenty  years  ending  with  1880, 
proves  to  be  that  which  allows  2 per  cent  yearly  for 
increase  by  the  excess  of  births  over  deaths,  and 
then  adds  the  immigration  each  year.  At  that  rate 
the  increase  each  year  since  July  1,  1880, would  be 
as  follows: 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  329 


Increase. 

J mmigration . 

1880-1  

1,003,115 

669,431 

1881-2  

788,992 

1882-3  

1,073,077 

603,322 

1883-4  

1,106,605 

518,592 

1884-5  

1,139,109 

395,346 

1885-6  

1,169,799 

334,203 

1886-7  

1,199,878 

500,000 

Total  - 

- - 7,728,149 

3,809,886 

In  the  statement  of  immigration  for  the  last  and 
the  current  year  the  official  figures  are  followed, 
embracing  no  allowance  for  immigrants  from  Cana- 
da or  Mexico. 

If  70,000  be  added  for  these  the  aggregate  popu- 
lation July  1,  1887,  would  be  61,763,818,  unless  the 
increase  by  excess  of  births  over  deaths  has  been 
smaller  during  the  present  than  during  the  preced- 
ing decades. 

Without  any  allowance  for  Canadian  immigra- 
tion the  population  July  1 would  appear  on  this 
basis  to  be  about  61,700,000.  The  fact  that  all 
treasury  estimates  give  lower  figures  is  in  the  main 
explained  by  their  failure  to  make  separate  allow- 
ance for  the  immigration,  which  has  been  larger 
during  the  recent  than  in  any  previous  decade.  As 
the  table  shows,  the  addition  by  immigration  alone, 
has  exceeded  3,800,000  in  seven  years,  and  has 
been  almost  half  the  increase  from  all  other  sources. 


330 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Maintaining  the  same  average  increase  of  1, 650- 
GOO  for  the  remaining  three  years  of  the  decade, 
the  census  of  June,  1890,  will  find  close  on  66,000,- 
000  of  inhabitants  within  the  limits  of  the  great  re- 
public. 

In  1887  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  furnished  the 
largest  number.  Of  the  arrivals  in  May,  29,277 
were  from  the  British  Isles,  16,416  being  from  Ire- 
land, while  the  German  immigration  was  but  18,- 
086  and  the  Scandinavian  13,139.  Italy  furnish- 
ed the  comparatively  large  number  of  8,642.  Dur- 
ing March  and  April  the  British  immigration  great- 
ly exceeded  the  Irish.  There  is  a growing  disin- 
clination among  the  British  mechanics  who  are  not 
satisfied  to  live  at  home  to  go  to  the  colonies.  They 
prefer  the  United  States.  It  is  said  that  seventy- 
five  per  cent  of  those  who  go  to  Canada  finally  find 
their  way  here.  The  question  whether  this  large 
European  immigration  is  an  unmixed  blessing  is 
engaging  the  serious  attention  of  thoughtful  Amer- 
icans. 

According  to  the  last  census,  there  were  6,677- 
360  aliens  in  the  United  States,  and  the  succeeding 
years  have  swelled  the  number  above  eight  millions. 
At  present,  the  critical  condition  of  military  affairs 
in  Europe  and  increased  taxation  has  stimulated 
immigration  anew,  and  public  attention  is  called  to 
the  fact,  that  the  quality  of  this  influx  of  population 
is  undesirable, 

Stringent  legislation  is  needed  to  divert  the  con- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  331 

stant  stream  of  pauperism  and  imbecility  which  is 
pouring  into  our  fair  land. 

A recent  editorial  upon  this  subject,  in  the  “Chi- 
cago Tribune,”  is  as  follows:  “In  Iowa  for  instance, 
the  principal  asylum  has  just  been  enlarged  for  the 
third  time,  and  yet  the  improvement  was  hardly 
completed  before  more  room  was  demanded,  and 
this  too, notwithstanding  the  fact  that  extensive  hos- 
pitals for  the  insane  had  been  established  in  other 
parts  of  the  state.  Much  the  same  experience  can 
be  noted  in  all  parts  of  the  North  and  West  where 
there  is  a large  inflow  of  population  from  Europe, 
and  yet  by  a singular  inversion  of  logic  the  opinion  is 
that  overwork,  nervous  tension,  or  some  other  char- 
acteristic feature  of  American  life  has  caused  the  re- 
markable increase  in  the  percentage  of  insane  per- 
sons. Dr.  Gilman,  a leading  expert  in  insanity, 
says  this  is  all  a mistake;  that  the  proportion  of  in- 
sane among  the  native-born  population  remains 
about  the  same,  and  the  increase  comes  from  the 
wholesale  importation  of  lunatics  from  Central  Eu- 
rope. Along  with  the  deported  paupers  and  quasi- 
criminals  coming  to  this  country  is  a flood  of  wretch- 
ed creatures  on  the  verge  of  insanity  and  sure  to  be- 
come in  a brief  time  tenants  of  our  tax-supported 
asylums.  Diseased  blood  is  brought  into  this  coun- 
try, and  capital  and  labor  are  taxed  heavier  every 
year  to  provide  maintenance  for  the  hordes 
of  lunatics  and  paupers  arriving  from  Eu- 
rope. 


332 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


“ When  General  Master  Workman  Powderly, 
of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  and  President  Depew,  of 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad — men  representing 
interests  in  wide  contrast — are  found  equally  urgent 
in  advocating  a restriction  of  immigration,  it  is  clear 
that  the  question  will  soon  become  one  of  earnest 
agitation.  Without  wasting  any  discussion  on  such 
a matter  as  the  importation  of  paupers,  lunatics,  and 
criminals  as  still  carried  on  under  the  existing  lax 
laws,  Powderly  says  he  is  opposed  to  a great  deal 
of  immigration,  pure  and  simple,  and  would  allow 
no  immigrant  to  land  unless  provided  with  means 
of  support  for  a year.  Depew  presents  something 
of  the  same  thought  when  he  declares  that  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  public  domain  and  the  disappear- 
of  the  unbought  homestead  will  soon  put  the  mat- 
ter of  immigration  on  a new  footing.  In  fact,  ow- 
ing to  the  causes  stated,  the  character  of  the  immi- 
gration to  the  United  States  is  changing  already. 
The  government  reports  show  a falling  off  of  seventy 
per  cent  in  the  number  of  farmers,  mechanics,  and 
trained  workers  entering  the  United  States  from  Eu- 
rope, and  the  substitution  of  unskilled  laborers,  va- 
grants, paupers,  and  representatives  of  all  the  de- 
fective and  dependent  classes. 

“ Such  of  these  undesirable  newcomers  as  do  not 
become  an  immediate  burden  on  the  public,  simply 
enter  the  overcrowded  labor  markets  of  the  large 
cities,  and  throw  their  weight  into  the  scale  to  de- 
press wages  and  promote  labor  troubles  and  discon- 


BESSEMER  STEEL  MANUFACTORY 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


335 


tent.  Grandiloquent  talk  about  the  United  States 
as  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  all  nations  was 
well  enough  when  the  government  had  an  immense 
unappropriated  domain,  and  by  the  offer  of  free 
homesteads  was  able  to  attract  enterprising,  thrifty 
home-seekers  from  Europe  to  the  W estern  territories. 
These  conditions  are  changing  rapidly,  and  instead 
of  attracting  the  old  class  of  immigration  the  Unit- 
ed States  is  becoming  a dumping  ground  for  the 
refuse  of  Central  Europe.  The  evil  is  getting  in- 
tolerable. The  present  restrictions  on  immigration 
are  practically  inoperative,  and  congress. must  pro- 
vide some  effective  means  to  shut  out,  at  least,  the 
paupers,  lunatics,  and  criminals  voided  on  the  Unit- 
ed States  from  the  jails,  almshouses,  and  asylums  of 
Central  Europe.” 

Apart  from  the  question  of  its  necessity,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  H.  H.  Boyesen,  there  are  indications  on 
all  hands  that  public  opinion  is  ripe  for  legislation 
tending  to  restrict  and  regulate  immigration.  The 
congressman  who  shall  initiate  such  legislation  need 
have  no  fear  of  alienating  the  immigrant  voters. 
The  great  majority  of  them,  so  far  as  I have  been 
able  to  ascertain,  would  favor  a law  having  such  an 
end  in  view.  The  second  biennial  report  of  the 
Wisconsin  Bureau  of  Labor  and  Industrial  Statis- 
tics (1885-6)  shows  conclusively  that  public  opinion 
in  the  West  has  been  undergoing  a great  change 
on  this  question  since  the  anarchists  made  their  ap- 
pearance, and  labor  troubles  have  led  to  disturbance 


336 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


and  loss  of  property  in  many  states.  The  report  of 
the  commissioner  is  of  particular  interest,  because 
Wisconsin  has  a very  large  foreign  population;  and 
the  overwhelming  sentiment  in  favor  of  restriction 
may  therefore  be  taken  to  indicate  that  the  immi- 
grants themselves  would  not  object  to  having  the 
gates  shut  against  their  own  countrymen.  The  re- 
port particularly  emphasizes  the  fact  that  4 a large 
percentage  even  of  those  demanding  total  prohibi- 
tion for  longer  or  shorter  periods  are  foreign  born, 
and  some  mention  this  circumstance  as  a reason 
why  they  know  better  than  others  the  necessity  of 
taking  the  question  thoroughly  in  hand.’  Out  of  a 
total  number  of  about  40,000  employes  interrogat- 
ed, 14,561  returned  no  answer,  5,728  declared 
themselves  in  favor  of  4 unqualified  restriction,’ 
4,059  favored  ‘total  prohibition,’  6,316  wished  to 
exclude  socialists  and  anarchists,  2,928  paupers 
and  criminals,  1,998  wanted  a property  qualification, 
220  an  educational  test,  and  1,320  thought  all 
should  be  excluded  except  those  of  4 good  charac- 
ter.’ Among  the  employers,  too,  a similar  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  restriction  and  even  exclusion  was 
proved  to  exist;  and  I do  not  doubt  that,  if  the  com- 
missioners of  labor  statistics  in  other  states  should 
extend  their  inquiries  so  as  to  include  this  question, 
they  would  arrive  at  similar  results. 

That  something  must  be  done  before  very  long  is 
obvious.  Merely  to  extend  the  term  required  for 
naturalization,  as  the  Wisconsin  legislature  has  re- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


337 


cently  done,  is  of  no  avail.  It  is  not  the  privileges 
of  American  citizenship  which  entice  the  immigrant 
away  from  his  old  home;  it  is  the  prospect  of  earn- 
ing an  easier  living.  The  sentiment  hostile  to  im- 
migration, which  from  time  to  time  has  swept  over 
the  country,  has  usually  found  expression  in  some 
such  law;  as  when  congress,  in  1798,  required  a 
residence  of  fourteen  years  before  citizenship  could 
be  acquired.  This  law  was,  however,  repealed  in 
1802.  Restriction,  if  it  is  to  be  effective,  must  pro- 
hibit entrance  to  certain  specified  classes  of  people; 
and  no  immigrant  should  be  permitted  to  land  un- 
less. he  can  exhibit  a certificate,  signed  by  the  Amer- 
ican consul  at  the  port  from  which  he  has  sailed, 
showing  that  he  possesses  the  qualifications,  what- 
ever they  may  be,  which  the  law  shall  require.  Such 
a requisition  would,  of  course,  greatly  increase 
the  labor  and  responsibility  of  the  consuls,  and 
might  necessitate  an  increase  in  the  numbers  of 
these  officials.  But  as  a consulate,  in  all  but  the 
principal  commercial  cities,  is  at  present  almost  a 
sinecure,  this  objection  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as 
a serious  one. 

The  unexpended  surplus  now  in  the  labor  mar- 
ket is  steadily  increased  by  immigration,  and  the 
fact  is  patent  that  our  republican  institutions  are 
menaced.  The  alarming  outbreaks  of  socialistic 
and  communistic  conspiracies  unerringly  show  the 
character  of  the  material  which  is  pouring  into  the 


338 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


great  industrial  centers,  and  the  evil  annually  in- 
creases. Effective  restriction  of  immigration  is 
imperatively  demanded  by  American  working- 
men. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


339 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


THOUGHTS  OF  TO-DAY. 

HON.  JOHN  SEITZ LABOR  ENTITLED  TO  FIRST  CONSID- 
ERATION— OPINIONS  OF  R.  F.  ROWELL HON.  GEORGE 

L.  WELLINGTON HON.  JESSE  HARPER  HON.  O.  W. 

BARNARD H.  E.  BALDWIN HON.  ALF.  TAYLOR N. 

M.  LOVIN C.  B.  FENTON C.  T.  PARKER REV.  DR. 

THOMAS G.  W.  PHILLIPPO  O.  J.  SUTTON W.  H. 

ROBB J.  D.  HARDY W.  W.  JONES COM.  MINERS 

AND  MINE  LABORERS W.  H.  DAVIDSON R.  C.  MC- 

BEATH D.  W.  SMITH N.  B.  STACK HON.  WILLIAM 

BAKER JAMES  MITCHELL -HON.  A.  J.  STREETOR 

the  notorious  HAZARD  CIRCULAR  — a.  a. 

BEATON. 

While  4 issues”  may  change  from  time  to  time  as 
a result  of  changed  conditions,  the  objects  of  gov- 
ernment should  ever  be  the  same — to  protect  all 
men  and  all  classes  of  society  in  the  enjoyment  of 
“life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.”  Give 
all  occupations  equal  legal  opportunities  for  self- 
support  and  self-improvement,  and  protect  the  weak 


340 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


against  the  cunning  of  the  unscrupulous,  and  tlie 
rapacity  of  the  strong. 

“With  Lincoln,  I believe  that  4 Labor  being  prior 
to  and  the  creator  of  capital,  is  entitled  to  the  first 
consideration.’  That  not  the  laborer  only,  but  al] 
classes  of  society  are  interested  in  the  elevation  and 
prosperity  of  the  productive  labor  of  the  country. 
The  peace  and  safety  of  society  and  the  stability  of 
goodgovernmentdemand  encouragement  and  respect 
for  honest  industry.  Hence  a broad  and  wise 
statesmanship  will  aim  at  the  upbuilding  of  the  la- 
boring people  so  that  every  willing  worker  shall  be 
able  to  acquire  a home  of  his  own,  the  dearest  spot 
on  earth,  which  he  can  improve  and  beautify  with- 
out fear  of  losing;  where  he  can  rear  his  little 
ones  like  a true  American  freeman.  Thus  will  con- 
tented labor  become  the  sheet  anchor  of  law  and 
order  at  home,  and  the  right  arm  of  the  state  against 
foreign  foes. 

“With  Daniel  Webster,  I believe  that  a concentra- 
tion of  the  country’s  wealth  in  few  hands  fastens 
aristocracy  upon  us,  no  matter  what  the  form  of  our 
government.  The  colossal  fortunes  made  in  a few 
years  through  corporate  privileges  should  alarm  ev- 
ery lover  of  justice  and  republican  government. 
Natural  resources,  the  machinery  of  production  and 
distribution,  and  the  government  itself  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  organized  greed.  Hence  pov- 
erty and  destitution  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  and  the 
blasphemous  cry  goes  out,  4 Over-production  is  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


341 


caused  There  can  be  no  over-production  till  every 
industrious  person  shall  enjoy  a comfortable  share 
ot  the  good  things  of  life.  The  prime  cause  of 
labor’s  hardships  may  be  found  in  the  inadequate 
and  costly  machinery  for  distributing  the  products 
of  labor. 

“When  congress  shall  resume  its  constitutional 
power  ‘to  coin  money  and  regulate  its  value,’  and 
render  it  stable  by  supplying  an  ample  and  uniform 
volume,  and  drive  the  ‘ money  changers  from  the 
temple  ’ by  making  all  money  of  equal  legal  tender; 
when  it  operates  telegraphs  and  railways  at  cost, 
when  it  drives  foreign  and  domestic  landlords  and 
nabobs  into  the  sea  by  a ‘graduated  tax;’  when 
these  things  are  done,  ‘ labor  strikes  ’ because  of 
‘hard  times’  will  be  remembered  only  as  an  ugly 
vision  of  the  past.  There  are  Other  questions,  but 
these  be  the  main  timbers  in  the  new  republic 
which  enlightened  organized  labor  will  secure  in 
the  near  future,  by  taking  control  of  the  government 
the  rightful  prerogative  of  tho  majority.” 

John  Seitz, 

Union  Labor  Candidate  for  Governor  of  Ohio. 

“What  is  now  needed  is  to  abolish  the  necessity 
for  the  unnatural  use  for  money,  by  the  abolition  of 
the  debt  and  credit  system.” 

R.  F.  Rowell,  L.  A.,  4616,  K.  ofL. 


B42 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOE. 


“Labor  is  the  great  force  by  which  civilization  has 
been  evolved  from  savagery  and  barbarism.  Labor 
is  the  power  which  has  created  wealth.  Labor  is  the 
giant  which  has  sent  the  world  forward  and  upward 
in  its  course.  All  history  gives  proof  of  this.  As 
we  look  backward  over  the  past  and  view  the  ruins 
of  the  nations  that  have  been  and  are  no  more,  and 
as  we  turn  and  look  upon  the  grandeur,  magnifi- 
cence and  wealth  of  the  nations  which  are  in  exist- 
ence now,  and  then  ask  the  chronicler  of  the  world’s 
annals,  ‘ by  what  power  and  force  came  all  this  ? ’ 
the  answer  shall  be,  ‘ by  labor,  the  great  creative 
power  which  is  God’s  greatest  attribute,  and  which, 
when  exercised  by  man,  makes  him  akin  to  God.’ 
While  this  has  been  demonstrated  among  all  nations, 
its  grandest  exemplifications  has  been  given  in  our 
own  land.  Four  centuries  of  time  have  backward 
rolled  since  Columbus  first  saw  the  shores  of  the 
< New  W orld.  ’ When  its  discovery  was  made  known 
the  adventurous  spirit  of  the  European  nations  sent 
men  forth  to  search  the  Western  hemisphere  for 
new  houses  and  better  fortunes.  Almost  a century 
was  consumed  in  gaining  a foothold  upon  the  soil 
on  the  Northern  portion  of  the  continent.  At  last, 
however,  the  indomitable  spirit  of  the  English, 
French,  German  and  Dutch  settlers  founded  colon- 
ies, which  lived  and  prospered,  and  in  an  apparent- 
ly unlimited  wilderness.” 

Hon.  Geoege  L,  Wellington. 


MINING  IN  COLORADO 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


345 


“The  object  of  the  noble  order  of  the  Knights  of 
Labor  is  to  educate  a man  to  his  own  best  interest, 
and  by  the  association  of  ideas  and  proper  compar- 
ison of  things  and  events,  and  by  bringing  famil- 
iar subjects  under 'debate,  that  it  will  set  a man 
thinking  for  himself,  and  bring  his  latent  faculties 
into  play,  and  in  a very  short  time  surprise  him- 
self.” 

A True  Knight. 

“ There  are  two  great  evils  that  are  afflicting  hu- 
manity to-day  as  it  has  not  been  plagued  in  all  the 
ages  bygone.  One  is  a false  money  system  (and  its 
correlatives),  a system  which,  in  its  operation,  is  a 
crime  against  the  right  of  man.  The  other  is  a le- 
galized liquor  traffic.  These  two  giants  in  wicked- 
ness, monsters  in  iniquity,  are  endangering,  as  it 
never  has  been  before,  the  Christian  civilization  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

“The  substitution  of  full  legal  tender  paper  mon- 
ey, in  volume  sufficient  for  all  purposes — is  the 
remedy  so  far  as  the  money  question  is  concerned. 

“We  have  over  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thous- 
and miles  of  railroad,  costing  about  two  thousand 
million  dollars. 

“ The  monopolies  of  transportation  have  also  a 
land  gift,  munificent  as  an  empire — as  large  as  nine 
states  like  Ohio. 

“The  telegraph,  costing  twenty  million  dollars,  is 
watered  up  to  eighty  million  dollars. 


346 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Ninety  bushels  of  wheat  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  bushels  of  corn,  per  capita,  to  each  wage- 
worker; fifteen  per  cent  above  an  average  of  pota- 
toes, and  eighteen  per  cent  above  an  average  hay 
crop;  the  best  wool  crop  in  ten  years,  less  sickness 
than  in  any  year  for  twenty — and  at  the  end  of  it 
two  million  workers  out  of  employment  and  desti- 
tute to  a degree  unprecedented  in  the  past. 

America!  the  aegis  of  liberty:  the  beacon  light  of 
hope.  Land  of  the  free  church;  land  of  the  free 
school;  land  of  the  free  man.  The  divinely  guided 
Magi  came  from  the  East  to  worship  in  the  man- 
ger, the  Omniarch  of  the  world.  His  star  moved 
west  until  it  bathed  in  the  silver  waters  of  the  ocean 
of  setting  sun.  Then  its  burning  corruscations 
shone  back  upon  the  track  where  man  had  taken 
his  weary  march,  and  the  glory  of  that  double  shin- 
ing made  brighter  than  halo — America. 

Hon.  Jesse  Harpek. 

The  ennobling  pursuit  of  agriculture,  forming  as 
it  does  the  very  basis  of  our  national  prosperity, 
should  have  every  fostering  care  thrown  around  it, 
lying  legitimately  within  the  domain  of  legislation. 

Toward  the  railroad  and  manufacturing  corpora- 
tions, as  such,  I have  no  feeling  of  hostility,  but  be- 
lieve that  the  states,  and  national  government,  if 
necessary,  should  place  wholsome  checks  upon  their 
power,  to  the  end,  that  the  producing  classes  may 
not  be  burdened  and  oppressed,  and  that  the  law 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR.  347 

should  be  enforced  against  such  corporations  the 
same  as  against  individuals. 

“I  believe  we  should  maintain  the  dignity  of  la- 
bor, by  giving  it  its  just  reward,  and  inasmuch  as 
the  wealth  and  capital  of  the  world  are  the  creatures 
of  labor,  the  latter  should  receive  the  higher  con- 
sideration at  our  hands,  and  the  laborer  be  permit- 
ted to  enjoy  fully  the  fruits  of  his  labor.” 

Hon.  O.  W.  Barnard. 

“ That  labor  demands  is  such  legislation  as  will 
conform  strictly  to  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Make  it  possible 
for  the  industrially  inclined  to  decently  exist,  edu- 
cate their  children  and  reduce  crime  to  a minimum.” 

H.  E.  Baldwin. 

“Wealth  and  labor  bear  the  same  relation  to  each 
other  that  exists  between  the  mill-wheel  and  the 
water  in  the  dam;  the  stream  in  the  boiler  and  the 
engine.  They  are  the  complements  of  each  other  and 
wealth  has  no  right  to  treat  labor  with  contempt.” 

Alfred  Taylor,  Ed.  Alabama  Sentinel. 

4 ‘Labor  demands  but  one  reform — Emancipation.  ” 
W.  C.  Owen,  L,  A.,  8133,  K.  of  L. 

“The  bonded  indebtedness  of  the  nation,  the  na- 
tional banking  system,  the  convict  labor,  Chinese 
and  foreign  pauper  labor,  transportation — both  of 


348 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


freight  and  news — and  the  great  land  question,  are 
among  the  many  questions  now  before  the  people.” 

N.  M.  Lavin,  M.W.,  L.  A.,  4001,  K.  of  L. 

“One  of  the  measures  required  is  a change  in  oui 
mode  of  taxation,  to  the  end  that  the  burdens  be 
taken  off  of  labor,  and  that  capital  pay  its  just 
share.” 

C.  B.  Benton,  L.  A.,  1917,  K.  of  L. 

“As  long  as  there  is  one  living  being  on  the  face 
of  the  globe  to  be  benefited  through  use  or  com 
sumption  of  natural  or  artificial  products,  resources, 
or  elements,  there  can  be  no  over-production.” 

C.  T.  Parker,  L.  A.,  2514,  K.  of  L. 

“ The  strikes  cannot  last  long,  and  the  radical 
question  of  labor  is  yet  to  be  settled.  It  will  be 
settled  by  the  principles  of  right  and  justice.  There 
is  no  monopoly  in  truth  and  love.” 

Rev.  Dr.  Thomas. 

“The  stars  and  stripes  will  afford  all  the  protect- 
ion we  may  need,  and  is  the  only  flag  that  should 
be  allowed  on  American  soil.  Under  it  let  labor 
assemble  and  march  on  to  victory.  There  are  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  people  who  are  in  sympathy 
with  legitimately  organized  labor,  and  if  we  will 
keep  radicals  in  the  rear,  our  success  will  soon 
be  assured.  Everywhere  organized  labor,  free 
from  red  flags  and  radicals,  makes  a stand  for  their 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


349 


rights  as  against  oppression  and  monopoly,  wonder- 
ful progress  has  been  made. 

“ There  is  but  one  way  to  deal  with  men  who  march 
through  the  streets  of  any  city  in  this  country 
with  any  other  than  the  American  flag,  that  is  to 
shoot  them  on  the  spot.  If  the  stars  and  stripes  are 
not  good  enough  for  them  to  march  under,  they  are 
not  good  enough  to  be  tolerated  in  America. 

“Our  fight  is  not  for  a class,  but  for  all.  The  small 
business  man,  the  farmer,  the  mechanic  and  small 
capitalist,  is  equally  interested  with  us.” 

George  W.  Phillippo, 

L.  A.,  10,459,  K.  of  L. 

“The  only  way  for  the  great  body  of  producers  to 
secure  laws  favorable  to  themselves,  is  to  send  their 
own  men  to  the  law  making  bodies,  who  will  not  be 
bound  by  party  obligations  that  are  antagonistic  to 
their  interests.” 

O.  J.  Sutton,  L.  A.,  5531,  K.  of  L. 

“As  the  wrongs  of  which  the  laboring  man  com- 
plains have  come  through  legislation,  the  remedy 
must  also  come  through  legislation.  Organization 
is  doing  a great  work  in  educating  the  working 
classes  in  the  principles  of  political  economy. 

“Prison  labor  should  not  be  brought  in  conflict 
with  free  labor.  The  present  system  is  a pernicious 
one,  because  it  brings  the  labor  of  our  convicts  in 
competition  with  the  honest  artisan,  and  has  a ten- 


350 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


dency  to  lower  his  wages.  In  my  opinion,  the  con- 
victs should  he  placed  at  work  on  our  roads  under 
the  supervision  of  the  state.  And  magnificent  high- 
ways, something  after  the  manner  of  the  celebrated 
Appian  Way,  should  be  constructed  by  this  labor. 
In'  this  manner  the  convict  can  be  kept  at  work 
without  interfering  with  honest  labor.” 

W.  H.  Kobb,  L.  A.,  2127,  K.  of  L. 

“ Those  who  have  been  intrusted  with  the  power 
to  enact  the  laws,  as  well  as  those  who  have  been 
intrusted  with  the  execution  of  these  laws,  have  pan- 
dered to  the  influence  of  money  and  power,  instead 
of  the  will  of  the  people,  until  they  have  gone  be- 
yond the  danger  line. 

‘ ‘Arbitration  is  the  best  method  for  the  adjustment 
of  all  differences  between  capital  and  labor,  or  be- 
tween individuals.” 

J.  D.  Hardy,  L.  A.,  9306,  K.  of  L. 

“Money  performs  precisely  the  same  duty  to  a na- 
tion that  the  blood  does  to  the  human  body.  To 
have  a healthy  body  there  must  be  the  necessary 
amount  of  blood,  and  it  must  be  good  and  must  * 
circulate  to  the  extremities  of  the  body.  If  this  be 
not  the  case,  the  body  cannot  be  in  good  health; 
but  if  all  of  the  blood  flows  to  the  head,  apoplexy 
and  death  ensue.” 

W.  W.  Jones,  L.  A.  ,9189,  K.  of  L. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


351 


“The  history  and  experience  of  the  past  make  it 
apparent  to  every  intelligent  and  thoughtful  mind 
that  strikes  and  lockouts  are  false  agencies  and  bru- 
tal resorts  for  the  adjustment  of  the  disputes  and 
controversies  arising  between  employing  capital  and 
employed  labor.  They  have  become  evils  of  the 
gravest  magnitude,  not  only  to  those  immediately 
concerned  in  them  but  also  to  general  society,  be- 
ing fruitful  sources  of  public  disturbances,  riot,  and 
bloodshed.  Sad  illustrations  of  this  truth  are  now 
being  witnessed  in  certain  of  our  large  cities,  and 
in  several  of  the  mining  and  manufacturing  cen- 
ters of  the  country.  These  industrial  conflicts  gen- 
erally involve  waste  of  capital  on  the  one  hand  and 
impoverishment  of  labor  on  the  other.  They  endan- 
ger bitter  feelings  of  prejudice  and  enmity,  and  en- 
kindle the  destructive  passions  of  hate  and  revenge, 
bearing  in  their  train  the  curses  of  widespread  mis- 
ery and  wretchedness.  They  are  contrary  to  the  true 
spirit  of  American  institutions,  and  violate  every 
principle  of  human  justice  and  of  Christian  charity. 

“Apart  and  in  conflict  capital  and  labor  become 
agents  of  evil,  while  united  they  create  blessings  of 
plenty  and  prosperity,  and  enable  a man  to  utilize 
and  enjoy  the  bounteous  resources  of  nature  intend- 
ed for  his  use  and  happiness  by  the  Almighty. 

“ Capital  represents  the  accumulated  savings  of 
past  labor,  while  ‘ labor  is  the  most  sacred  part  of 
capital.’  Each  has  its  representative  duties  and  ob- 
ligations toward  the  other.  Capital  is  entitled  to 


352 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


fair  and  just  remuneration  for  its  risks  and  its  use, 
and  must  have  security  and  protection,  while  labor 
on  the  other  hand,  is  as  fully  and  as  justly  entitled 
to  reward  for  its  toil  and  its  sacrifices.  Each  is  en- 
titled to  its  equitable  share,  and  there  is  no  law, 
either  human  or  divine,  to  justify  the  one  impover- 
ishing and  crushing  the  other.” 

Committee  of  Miners  and  Operators, 
National  Federation  of  Minersand  Mine  Laborers. 

“Labor  is  the  honorable  thing  anong  men.  There 
is  not  a neatly  graded  lawn,  a pretty  garden  or  a 
well  trained  tree  that  does  not  tell  of  it.  It  builds 
magnificent  cities,  navies,  bridges,  rivers,  lays  the 
railroad  track,  and  drives  the  flying  locomotive; 
whenever  a steamer  plows  the  waves  or  a canal 
bears  the  nation’s  inland  wealth;  wherever  the 
corn,  cotton  or  wheat  fields  wave  and  the  mill 
wheel  turns,  there  labor  is  the  conqueror  and  the 
king.  The  newspaper,  wherever  it  spreads  its 
wings,  bears  the  impress  of  toiling  hands. 

“ Should  not  the  laborer  be  well  housed?  Should 
he  not  have  the  best  wife,  and  the  prettiest  chil- 
dren in  the  world?  Should  not  the  man  who  pro- 
duces all  we  eat  and  clothes  the  nation  be  honest? 
To  us  there  is  more  true  poetry'  about  the  laborer’s 
life  and  lot  than  in  any  other  condition  under  heav- 
en. It  matters  not  in  what  calling  a man  labors, 
or  toils,  if  he  toils  manfully,  honestly  and  content- 
edly. The  little  tin  pail  is  a badge  of  nobility.” 

William  H.  Davidson. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


353 


“ The  present  monetary  system  of  the  United 
States  is  a stupendous  obstacle  in  the  way  of  edu- 
cational advancement;  the  most  potent  engine  of 
demoralization,  and  fruitful  source  of  evil,  now  ex- 
tant; doing  more  to  destroy  patriotism  and  venera- 
tion for  law,  than  all  other  influences  combined; 
leading  to  peculation,  speculation  and  extortion 
upon  the  one  hand,  and  degradation  and  brutaliza- 
tion upon  the  other.” 

E.  C.  McBeath. 

“ As  long  as  individuals  are  allowed  to  monopo- 
lize the  industries  of  this  nation,  so  long  the  peo- 
ple must  live  in  poverty.  They  will  render  it  im- 
possible for  the  remainder  of  the  people  to  prosper. 
If  the  remainder  of  the  people  work  harder  and  in- 
crease more,  the  monopolists  will  increase  their 
demands. 

“ The  monopolists  have  it  in  their  power  to  regu- 
late the  amount  the  people  may  retain,  and  all  they 
will  allow  them  to  retain,  whether  they  produce 
much  or  little,  will  be  just  enough  to  live  on  and 
keep  producing,  and  under  such  circumstances  it  is 
idle  for  the  people  to  think  of  bettering  their  con- 
dition. We  must  legislate  monopolists  out  of  exist- 
ence as  we  have  legislated  them  into  existence.” 

D.  W.  Smith,  L.  A.,  3215,  K.  of  L. 

“The  tramp,  convict,  anarchist  and  such  charac- 
ters are  legitimate  productions  of  society.  If  we 
would  eliminate  them,  we  must  first  purge  society 


354 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


of  these  abnormal  conditions  giving  birth  to  them, 
by  adopting  what  the  doctors  call  a constitutional 
treatment;  purifying  the  blood  and  whole  system, 
for  these  characters  have  had  little  to  do  with  their 
own  formation.  When  we  locate  the  cause  of  these 
abnormal  productions,  we  find  it  to  be  what  the 
phrenologist  calls  acquisitiveness,  or  the  love  of 
property,  abnormally  developed.” 

J.  J.  Woodall,  Agricultural  Wheel. 

“ If  the  laboring  masses  would  conform  strictly 
to  the  preamble  and  declaration  of  principles  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  and  use  every  effort  to  have  them 
carried  out  to  the  letter,  their  God  given  rights 
would  be  restored  to  a suffering  people  with  the 
grandest  government  on  earth  to  protect  them.” 

N.  B.  Stack,  L:  A.,  5009.  K.  of  L. 

“The  eight-hour  law  should  not  be  overlooked. 
The  nation,  by  enactment,  says  it’s  right.  Why  do 
not  states  follow  the  decree  ? Men  are  not  slaves, 
vassals,  or  menials,  crouching  under  a kingly  pow- 
er, but  freeman  who  dare  assert  their  rights.  This 
world’s  a stage  and  we  its  actors,  and  in  its  daily 
battle,  eight  hours  for  rest,  eight  hours  for  work, 
and  eight  hours  for  recreation  and  improvement.” 

Hon.  William  Baker. 

“ Organization,  agitation,  co-operation  and  edu- 
cation are  the  four  mighty  auxiliaries  for  raising  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


355 


moral,  mental  and  material  status  of  the  toiling 
millions.” 

James  Mitchell, 

# Ed.  Fort  Wayne  Dispatch. 

“The  farmers  want  protection — government  pro- 
tection from  the  cormorants  that  are  eating  up  their 
substance.  And  while  they  need  protection  badly, 
they  will  not  get  it  without  some  kind  of  revolution 
shall  first  obtain  among  them.  Farmers  should  re- 
member that  our  government  has,  in  a measure, 
ceased  to  be  a government  of  the  people,  and  in 
lieu  of  it  we  have  a government  of  aristocratic 
wealth.  This  aristocracy  is  now  the  governing  pow- 
er in  both  state  and  nation.  Aristocracy  says,  ‘Mon- 
ey makes  the  mare  go,’  and  with  it  they  manipulate 
elections,  legislatures  and  the  administration  of  the 
laws. 

“Yes,  the  farmers  want  relief  from  the  govern- 
ment, but  they  will  not  get  it.  Mo,  never,  unless 
they  shall  organize  purposely  to  accomplish  it.” 

Hon.  A.  J.  Streeter. 

“When  at  last,  through  the  devotion  of  the  ‘ boys 
in  blue,’  and  their  fidelity  to  the  principles  of  eter- 
nal justice,  the  Great  God  of  Battles  crowned  them 
victors,  peace  returned  to  our  beautiful  land,  these 
sad  and  terrible  scenes  ceased,  and  we,  as  a nation, 
commenced  to  build  up  what  cruel  war  had  laid- 
desolate. 

“ Since  that  time,  monopolies  of  every  kind  and 
in  every  conceivable  shape,  have  been  arising  on 


356 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


every  hand,  until  we  find  the  practical  4 land  of  the 
free  and  the  home  of  the  brave,’  practically  monop- 
oly ridden.  We  have  land  monopolies,  railroad 
monopolies,  telegraph,  monopolies,  telephone  mon- 
opolies, coal  monopolies,  iron  monopolies,  oil  mon- 
opolies, and  so  on,  ad  infinitum. 

“ In  the  organization  of  the  Knights  of  Labor, 
the  wage-workers  of  this  country  are  organizing 
for  the  common  defense.  Our  homes,  our  liberties, 
our  very  lives  are  jeopardized  under  the  present  in- 
dustrial system.  Mammon  sits  enthroned  to-day  in 
the  temple,  where  the  common  people  thought  the 
goddess  of  Liberty  was  reigning  queen.  He  rules 
with  an  iron  rod.  At  his  beck  our  judges,  created  by 
his  power,  decide  momentous  questions,  but  always 
in  accordance  with  his  wish;  legislatures  fawn  and 
cringe  before  him,  enacting  only  such  laws  as  he 
approves;  juries  frame  their  verdicts  with  an  eye 
for  business  principles,  and  are  but  the  tools  of  this 
almost  almighty  power. 

“The  ‘Chicago  Express’  makes  a startling  dis- 
closure by  the  publication  of  a confidential  circular 
sent  by  the  celebrated  English  capitalist,  Mr.  Haz- 
ard, to  his  American  attorneys  in  1862,  from  which 
I extract  the  following: 

‘ ‘ ‘ Slavery  is  likely  to  be  abolished  by  the  new 
power,  and  chattel  slavery  be  destroyed.  This,  I and 
my  European  friends  are  in  favor  of,  for  slavery  is 
but  the  owning  of  labor,  and  carries  with  it  a duty 
to  care  for  the  laborer:  while  the  European  plan 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOE. 


357 


led  on  by  England  is  capital  control  of  labor  by 
controlling  wages  and  the  price  of  property.  This 
can  be  done  by  controlling  the  money.  The  great 
debt  that  capitalists  will  see  to  it  is  made  out  of  the 
war  must  be  used  as  the  means  to  control  the  vol- 
ume of  the  money.  To  accomplish  this  the  bonds 
must  be  used  as  the  banking  basis.  We  are  now 
waiting  to  get  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  to  make 
this  recommendation  to  congress.  It  will  not  do  to 
let  the  greenback,  as  it  is  called,  circulate  as  money 
any  length  of  time,  for  we  cannot  control  them. 
But  we  can  control  the  bonds,  and  through  them 
the  bank  issues.’ 

“ While  one  kind  of  monopoly  was  being  crushed 
in  the  South,  its  twin  brother  in  the  North,  taking 
advantage  of  the  helplessness  of  the  government, 
dictated  its  financial  policy.  The  grip  which  it 
secured  on  the  government  at  that  time,  has  never 
been  released.  If  the  transactions  of  the  bankers  of 
this  country  with  those  whom  the  people  believed 
had  the  interests  of  the  people  at  heart  could  be 
unveiled,  what  an  educating  revelation  that  would 
be.  Were  that  revelation  made,  we  might,  at  least, 
measure  the  patriotism  of  the  vampires  who  control 
the  industries  of  the  nation  to-day.” 

A..  A.  Beaton,  S.  M.  W. , D.  A.,  86,  K.  of  L. 


358 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOE. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


SIGHS  OF  THE  TIMES. 

VIEWS  OF  DAVID  EOSS — THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  THE  LABOE 

PEOBLEM OUT  OF  AGITATION  COME  MANY  BENEFITS 

EDUCATION  IS  EEQUIEED  FOE  ADVANCEMENT THE 

MASSES  AEE  THINKING EEFOEM  PAETIES UNION 

LABOE  PAETY  IN  THE  VAN OEGANIZATION  THE 

WATCHWOED  HON.  J.  W.  BEEIDENTHAL BEIGHT 

PEOSPECTS  WEST,  NOKTH,  SOUTH  AND  EAST LABOE 

IN  POLITICS WITH  OEGANIZATION  AND  COMMON  PUE- 

POSE  SUCCESS  IS  CEETAIN A PLATFOEM  BKOAD 

ENOUGH  FOE  ALL  IS  NEEDED HON.  HENKY  SMITH 

FUTUEE  OF  THE  WOEKINGMAN CONCLUSION . 

The  signs  of  the  times  indicate  that  labor  is  gath- 
ering its  vast  strength  to  take  a long  step  of  ad- 
vancement. The  position  and  demands  of  the  work- 
ingman is  the  giant  with  which  coming  statesmen 
must  grapple  and  make  terms  of  peace.  “ One  is 
justified  in  asserting,”  says  David  Ross,  “ that  no 
question  of  late  years  has  monopolized  a larger 
share  of  public  thought  and  attention  than  that  cov- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


359 


ered  by  the  term  ‘labor.’  Nor  can  the  magnitude  of 
the  task  of  adjusting  equitably  the  unnatural  rela- 
tions existing  between  capital  and  labor  be  exagger- 
ated, and  it  deservedly  stands  at  the  front  demand- 
ing above  all  others,  a peaceable  and  speedy  solu- 
tion. 

“A  question  of  such  vast  interest,  involving  the 
welfare  of  this  republic,  affecting  directly  the  inter- 
ests of  those  upon  whom  all  forms  of  prosperity  de- 
pend, is  worthy  of  being  first  considered  by  that 
large  and  increasing  class, who  with  brain  and  brawn 
toil  ceaselessly,  with  but  one  benevolent  object  in 
view,  the  amelioration  of  industrial  conditions.  Out 
of  this  universal  agitation  of  a great  theme  has  come 
many  benefits  to  the  workers.  Disagreeable  in  some 
respects,  as  the  present  order  of  affairs  is  to  many 
of  us,  we  can  value  the  importance  of  the  progress 
made,  by  comparison  with  past  systems  and  past 
methods. 

“The  gloomy  pictures  drawn  in  the  perverted  im- 
agination of  pessimistic  writers  cannot  affect  the  con- 
clusions of  the  candid  mind,  that  the  condition  of  the 
working  people,  with  many  of  their  plans  frustrat- 
ed, many  objects  unattained,  and  many  grievances  of 
which  they  complain,  is  tending  to  still  greater  im- 
provement, with  present  prospects  indicative  of 
continued  betterment. 

“We  are  not  surprised  at  the  terrible  struggle 
that,  in  the  past,  has  taken  place  between  capital 
and  labor,  when  the  causes  are  considered  that  pro- 


360 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOB. 


duced  it.  Capital,  ever  greedy  to  add  to  its  gains,  in 
many  instances  every  opportunity  seized  to  express  its 
contempt  for  the  laborer,  denying  the  sacred  right 
of  the  workmen  to  combine  for  their  own  protection. 
Capital  ever  powerful,  and  having  every  advantage, 
has  been  unscrupulously  employed  in  making  man- 
hood merchantable,  by  offering  tempting  sums  that 
men,  elected  to  make  laws  and  administer  justice, 
might  become  blind  to  the  diabolical  nature  of  their 
designs,  to  still  further  rob  and  oppress  those  at 
their  mercy.  It  is  no  wonder  that  men  at  times 
have  been  goaded  to  desperation,  and  when  living 
under  a burning  sense  of  their  merciless  treatment, 
were  prompted  in  the  commission  of  acts,  which 
only  the  circumstances  of  the  time  could  suggest 
and  justify. 

“ The  demands  of  the  working  people  have  not 
been  of  themselves  so  unjust  as  their  often  unfair 
and  impractical  methods  of  securing  them.  Many  * 
painful  conflicts  of  the  past,  between  capital  on  the 
one  side  and  labor  on  the  other,  have  had  their  ori- 
gin in  a stupid  misunderstanding  of  the  differences 
existing  between  them.  In  the  absence  of  a proper 
knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  treating  such 
points  of  difference,  when  they  did  present  them- 
selves, and  in  almost  absolute  ignorance  of  each 
other’s  real  position,  all  these  and  other  causes  com- 
bined to  disarrange  the  relations,  intensify  the  ha- 
tred , and  widen  the  breach  between  their  respective 
interests. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


361 


“ The  great  lessons  learned  at  a prodigious  cost 
of  suffering  and  unprofitable  experience,  has  wrought 
a marvelous  change  in  the  positions  of  these  inter- 
ests towards  one  another.  Reason  permits  us  to 
indulge  the  hope,  that  one  portion  of  a common 
brotherhood  will  not  forever  be  pitted  against  the 
other.  The  light  of  experience  enables  us  to  Realize 
the  folly  of  continuing  an  antagonism,  the  effect  of 
which  is  to  stifle  the  progressive  spirit,  and  result 
more  or  less  injuriously  to  interests  which  a just 
economic  system  would  consider  mutual  and  de- 
pendent upon  each  other. 

“One  of  the  most  gratifying  signs  of  the  times 
is  the  reasonable  hope  of  an  early  removal  of  many 
of  the  prolific  sources  of  division,  through  the  rapid 
increase  of  intelligence  among  the  industrial  classes, 
which  of  itself,  while  it  may  not  mean  absolute  har- 
mony in  all  things  between  the  consolidated  forces 
of  labor  and  capital,  points  unmistakably  to  a clear- 
er and  fuller  recognition  of  the  rights  of  those  whose 
lot  it  is  to  toil,  by  those  whose  fortune  it  is  to  fur- 
nish employment.  This  is  certainly  a great  stride 
in  the  direction  of  future  triumphs.  That  the  minds 
of  working  people  are  being  educated  and  disci- 
plined by  the  discussion  of  this  question,  none  who 
are  familiar  with  them  will  deny.  No  one  with 
ordinary  powers  of  observation,  who  mingles  with 
working  people,  irrespective  of  the  occupation  in 
which  they  are  engaged,  can  fail  to  be  impressed 
with  the  wonderful  awakening  of  intelligence, 
24 


362 


THE  VOICE  OE  LABOR. 


which  recent  agitations  in  the  sphere  of  labor  have 
produced. 

“The  masses  are  beginning  to  think,  study  and 
reflect  for  themselves.  They  cannot  longer  remain 
satisfied  with  the  concessions  won  for  them  through 
the  exertions  of  their  predecessors.  They  feel  the 
duty  of  the  hour  is  to  think,  act,  and  give  the  world 
the  benefit  of  their  thought  and  action,  and  thus  ac- 
celerate their  evolution  from  a degrading  stage  of 
mere  wage  slavery  to  one  of  profit-sharing,  in 
which  all  are  recognized  as  equals,  or  better 
still,  to  a universal  system  of  co-operative  produc- 
tion.” 

The  constant  discussion  of  such  subjects  as  labor, 
finance,  transportation,  etc.,  has  awakened  univer- 
sal interest.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  object  and 
aims  of  the  thousands  of  organizations  throughout 
the  land,  nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  men  at  the 
heads  of  the  various  reform  political  parties  are  af- 
flicted with  delusions. 

The  most  conservative  elements  of  the  reform 
movement  are  represented  by  the  Typographical 
Union,  Trades  Unions,  Grange,  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry,  Knights  of  Labor,  National  Greenback  La- 
bor party,  Prohibition  party,  Anti-Monopoly  party, 
Knights  of  Industry,  Grand  Agricultural  Wheel, 
National  Homesteaders  of  America,  Progressive 
party,  Industrial  League,  Plow,  Commoners,  Amer- 
ican Society  to  Promote  Justice,  Woman’s  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  Woman  Suffrage  Association, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


363 


The  Industrial  Union,  American  General  Reform 
party,  United  Labor  party,  Union  Labor  party, 
Order  of  American  Patriots  and  Anti-Poverty  So- 
ciety. 

Of  these,  the  Union  Labor  party  is  rapidly  gain- 
ing strength,  and  leads  the  van.  A liberal  plat- 
form was  adopted  at  a general  convention  held  at 
Cincinnati,  February  22,  1887,  which  has  been  fa- 
vorably received  by  nearly  all  of  the  other  parties. 
The  principal  planks  of  their  platform  are  a gradu- 
ated land  and  income  tax,  governmental  control  of 
transportation  and  means  of  communication,  pay- 
ment of  the  national  debt,  the  non-issue  of  bonds, 
senators  to  be  elective  by  a direct  vote  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  universal  suffrage. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Breidenthal,  in  commenting  upon 
the  future  of  the  labor  movement  in  the  West, 
writes  that  “The  prospects  are  flattering.  The  peo- 
ple are  reading  for  themselves;  they  are  reading 
labor  papers;  they  are  doing  more  quiet  thinking 
than  for  many  years;  and  as  a result,  the  Labor 
party  is  having  a wonderful  growth.  County 
tickets  are  being  placed  in  the  field  this  year,  and 
in  many  localities,  even  this  early  in  the  campaign, 
the  prospects  for  success  are  good.  By  1888,  the 
party  will  be  well  organized  throughout  the  West, 
and  will  undoubtedly  have  a full  ticket  in  the  field. 
The  men  who  are  joining  our  ranks  know  why  they 
do  so,  and  can  generally  give  well  defined  reasons 
in  support  of  their  views.” 


364 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Organization  is  the  watchword  throughout  the 
middle  and  western  states,  and  there  is  a great  ef- 
fort being  made  to  consolidate  the  outlying  factions 
into  a party  of  national  strength.  In  New  Eng- 
land and  the  Eastern  states,  the  political  phase  of 
labor  is  attracting  the  attention  of  statesmen  and 
politick  is,  and  has  already  been  recognized  as  a 
powerful  element,  which  will  have  much  to  do  with 
future  politics.  As  in  the  West,  the  labor  move- 
ment is  rapidly  organizing,  and  has  made  great  pro- 
gress in  undermining  the  old  political  parties,  de- 
spite of  considerable  internal  dissension. 

The  campaign  at  hand  will  present,  undoubtedly, 
a national  labor  ticket,  and  its  strength  at  the  polls 
will  be  the  fruit  of  organization.  Mr.  Powderly, 
who  is  in  a position  to  know,  asserts  that  the  pros- 
pects of  the  workingman  were  never  better,  and 
confidently  predicts  an  era  of  political  prosperity 
for  labor.  The  signs  of  the  times  unmistakably 
point  to  the  fact,  that  organization  upon  a thought- 
ful and  intelligent  basis  is  gaining  ground.  Educa- 
tion upon  the  living  issues  of  the  day,  will  enable 
the  cause  of  the  workingman  to  be  presented  as  a 
solid  phalanx,  and  with  the  ballot,  from  which  there 
is  no  appeal,  legislate  all  grievances  into  oblivion. 

“ The  agitation  now  so  prevalent,”  writes  G.  R. 
Williams,  “strongly  indicates  the  formation  of  the 
great  people’s  party,  which  is  labor’s  only  salvation. 
The  laboring  man  must  be  true  to  himself,  and  see 
that  the  now  impending  struggle  does  not  waste 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


365 


itself  in  dust.  Labor  must  unite  with  other  organ- 
izations, as  the  Wheels,  Greenbackers,  Farmers’ Al- 
liance, Grangers,  etc. , all  of  whose  interests  are  iden- 
tical, and  carry  their  common  grievances  to  the  bal- 
lot box,  America’s  point  of  final  settlement,  where 
relief  to  their  depressed  condition  can  alone  be 
found.  Those  who  are  laboring  for  the  uplifting 
of  the  workingman’s  condition  see  this  necessity, 
and  are  urging  labor  and  producers  to  cast  minor 
issues  into  the  back  ground,  and  to  arise  in  a united 
mass  to  speak  at  the  polls,  which  is  the  only  true 
American  mode  of  settling  American  questions. 
Such  a consolidation  is  shadowed  in  the  daily 
prints.  ” 

The  officers  and  leaders  of  the  Knights  of  Labor, 
the  representative  organization  of  the  workingman, 
have  persistently  urged  moderation  and  have  sought 
to  quell  violent  measures.  They  condemn  the  vir- 
ulent features  of  anarchy  and  rabid  socialism,  and 
counsel  the  more  effective  forces  of  education  and 
intelligent  organization.  In  these  forces  exist  the 
true  sources  of  future  success. 

The  decisive  action  of  their  convention  at  Minne- 
apolis, October,  1887,  in  declaring  against  anar- 
chists and  the  extremists  of  socialism,  shows  a de- 
termined effort  in  the  right  direction,  which  has  met 
with  general  approval. 

Beyond  question,  the  intelligent  workingman 
sees  labor’s  best  condition  obtainable  through  the 
medium  of  the  ballot,  and  the  tendency  of  his 


366 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


course  has  turned  to  that  path.  Hon.  Henry  Smith 
writes  on  this  truth  as  follows : “A  careful 

look  over  the  field  of  organized  labor,  reveals  the 
fact  that  with  the  Knights  of  Labor  all  workers 
whether  professional,  mechanical,  agricultural,  or 
the  laborer  who  swings  the  pick  or  shovel,  can  and 
do  meet  on  one  common  level  for  the  advancement 
of  humanity,  by  mutual  education  on  all  questions 
affecting  the  emancipation  of  the  wealth  producers 
from  the  monopolist,  speculator  and  usurer. 

“ The  organization  of  skilled  mechanics,  or  crafts, 
in  unions,  does  not  fully  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  present  time,  because  their  field  of  operation  is 
limited.  The  farmer  and  laborer  cannot  become  a 
member  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engi- 
neers, or  Amalgamated  Iron  and  Steel  Workers, 
and  the  result  is,  the  great  majority  of  the  wealth 
producers  cannot  aid  them  or  have  much  sympathy 
for  them,  in  any  contest  in  which  the  several  craft 
unions  may  be  engaged.  If  labor  is  ever  to  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  its  efforts,  it  must  throw  aside  the  I-am- 
better-than-thou  system,  and  come  together  in  one 
fold  on  a platform  of  principles  broad  enough  to  take 
all.  At  present,  the  best  offered  is  the  platform  of 
the  Knights  of  Labor,  which  is  in  harmony  with 
the  American  system  of  government  and  justice. 

4 c Strikes  as  now  carried  on,  are  but  a feeble  and 
momentary  make-shift  of  no  lasting  benefit  to  those 
engaged  in  them.  There  is  only  one  way  of  inau- 
gurating a strike,  the  benefits  of  which,  with  no 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


369 


drawback,  will  accrue  to  all  labor,  and  that  is  at  the 
ballot  box.  Experience  has  shown  that  a strike  en- 
tered into  at  the  polls  by  the  wealth  producers,  has 
always  sent  consternation  and  confusion  into  the 
ranks  of  the  labor  oppressors.  It  cuts  deep,  awakens 
the  guilty  consciences  and  causes  gnashingof  teeth. 
Therefore,  let  labor  lay  aside  all  differences,  join 
heart  and  hand,  enter  into  a strike  at  the  ballot  box 
for  justice  and  humanity,  and  let  that  strike  never 
be  declared  off.” 

Many  have  predicted  the  downfall  of  the  vigorous 
plea  that  labor  has  advanced  for  a better  condition, 
as  expressed  in  the  varied  forms  of  its  organization, 
but  the  future  will  tell  a different  story.  What  the 
coming  years  have  in  store  for  the  workingman  is  yet 
to  be  known,  yet  the  signs  of  to-day  do  not  augur 
ill.  In  reply  to  a query  as  to  what  the  future  of  the 
workingman  will  be,  G.  W.  Johnson1  writes: 

“ The  future  is  a mirror,  and  to  forecast  events  is 
to  but  criticise  its  reflections.  It  is  continually  be- 
fore us,  opaque,  but  beaming  with  what  past  ex- 
periences have  hinted  is  in  store  for  us,  and  re- 
vealing in  the  present  only  reflections  of  sad 
experience — this  is  the  continued  round  of  all 
time. 

“The  idea  of  considering,  then,  what  may  be 
expected  as  a future  for  the  workingman,  carries 
with  it  a long  train  of  past  events  and  present 


1 L.  A.,  7020,  K.  of  L. 


370 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


conduct,  from  which  reasonably  safe  conclusions  may 
be  drawn. 

“The  problem  is  not  a new  one;  neither  is  it  con- 
fined to  the  present  or  succeeding  generations  mere- 
ly, but  bears  important  relations  to  all  future  pro- 
gress. It  is  in  fact  the  great  corner  stone  of  all 
civilization  and  being.  Nothing  is  produced  without 
labor,  and  nothing  labors  save  it  prey  upon  produc- 
tion. No  station  is  without  labor,  neither  exists 
any  labor  without  station.  Thus  woven  so  distinct- 
ly and  finely  in  all  things,  the  most  subtle  and  re- 
fined distinctions  become  necessary  to  define  its  po- 
sition and  just  relations.  This  is  the  problem  as  it 
lays  before  the  people. 

“Great  men  have  arisen  at  different  times  who 
have  discussed  well  and,  in  many  instances,  proper- 
ly, this  question;  but  none,  to  the  present,  but  the 
scientific  mind  seemed  scarcely  even  temporarily 
concerned  about  it.  The  accumulated  force,  how- 
ever, of  these  thoughts  and  discussions  seem  to  have 
broken  into  a storm — a hurricane  for  to  day.  As  a 
mighty  vessel  kept  in  its  proper  course  by  a master 
mind  through  the  storm,  cleared  of  rocks,  bars  and 
troughs  of  the  sea,  so  are  the  workingmen  of  to-day. 
They  have  the  master  minds  of  ages;  the  storm  is 
raging,  they  themselves  are  the  vessel  and  with 
what  degree  of  safety  they  will  reach  their  desired 
haven  depends  upon  their  conduct.  Time  alone  best 
can  tell.  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Savonarola,  Pitt, 
Fox,  Sheridan,  Chatham,  Washington,  Webster, 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


371 


Lincoln,  Jefferson,  Jackson,  Clay,  Calhoun  and  a 
host  of  other  orators  and  political  economists  of  all 
time,  from  Bible  times  inclusive,  to  the  present, 
have  never  ceased  to  warn  the  nation  against  oppres- 
sion of  labor.  There  have  been  under  these  teachings, 
at  various  times,  spasmodic  attempts  to  right  labor’s 
wrongs.  But,  unfortunately,  the  participating  work- 
ing people  have  been  too  ignorant,  too  filled  with 
prejudice,  too  overcome  with  unnatural  awe  at  ac- 
cumulation, to  maintain  themselves  in  their  jus- 
tice. 

“ To-day  a vastly  different  aspect  greets  even  the 
casual  observer.  Trades  unions  and  councils  with 
their  fraternity  and  mutual  assistance  among  their 
fellow  tradesmen  have  sprung  rapidly  up,  and  for 
their  time  filled  a great  need.  But  all  the  relief 
they  could  ever  expect  seemed  to  be  nearly  alto- 
gether of  a temporary  nature.  They  were,  and  are 
now,  too  circumscribed  in  action.  They  stood  well 
as  abutments  to  a bridge  which  is  to  cross  the 
chasm.  They  served  well  for  their  time.  What 
was  needed  when  the  trades  union  idea  first  sprang 
up  was  unity  and  fraternity — just  what  is  needed  to- 
day, only  needed  on  a broader  scale  than  trades 
unionism  admits.  They  seemed  to  be  well  calcu- 
lated to  open  the  gate  which  led  into  a broader  field. 
Uriah  Stephens  came  in  at  the  proper  time  to  com- 
plete the  work  started,  by  teaching  his  lesson  that 
not  only  should  men  of  a certain  trade  join  a certain 


372 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


organization  which  kept  the  harmony  of  that  trade 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  trades,  hut  that  all 
should  join  together  and  be  united  as  one.  This 
met  a greater  exigency,  and  as  the  fruit  of  it  we  have 
the  noble  order  of  the  Knights  of  Labor. 

“In  this  connection  strikes  should  be  mentioned. 
Like  chaff  they  show  which  way  the  wind  is  blow- 
ing. Destructive  and  as  liable  to  abuse  as  they  are, 
still  they  are  not  without  their  uses.  As  the  blood- 
iest and  most  warlike  times  have  marked  the  times 
of  greatest  progress  in  civilization,  so  the  strikes  of 
to-day  are  simply  marking  the  remarkable  progress 
toward  industrial  liberty  and  social  equality.  The 
Knights  of  Labor,  however,  by  their  education  of 
members  on  the  subject,  are  making  rapid  strides 
toward  the  obliteration  of  the  strike  as  a barbarism 
of  the  past.  Political  economy  in  general,  through 
them,  is  fast  becoming  a part  of  every  workingman. 
Their  papers  and  assembly  discussions  are  doing 
much  toward  popularizing  that  study  among  them. 
In  fact,  the  whole  aim  of  their  organization  is  in 
that  direction. 

“There  are  present  in  this,  as  in  all  other  similar 
movements,  those  whose  hot-headed  ideas  produce 
much  trouble,  and  in  a movement  composed  so  en- 
tirely of  working  people,  uneducated  and  ignorant, 
I wonder  that  there  is  not  more  of  them.  Even 
they  are  not  without  use.  The  strong,  conservative 
men  who  lead  in  any  movement  would  be  powerless 
indeed  were  there  not  hotheads  and  ‘ anarchists 5 


THE  VOICE  OP  LABOR.  373 

enough  to  stimulate  strife,  and  force  general  agita- 
tion on  their  subjects.  Their  presence  seem  to  be 
necessary  to  prove  the  presence  of  gold.  They  are 
required  to  give  a certain  strength  otherwise  unat- 
tainable. Ideas,  like  sailors,  would  amount  to  but 
little  encountered  they  no  storms.  But  too  much 
storm  swamps  all.  Hence  too  much  can  scarce- 
ly be  done  to  keep  the  power  of  hotheads  lim- 
ited. 

“ In  short,  the  situation  reveals  every  prerequi- 
site necessary  for  a change;  all  tends  to  show  that 
great  principles  are  bound  to  be  settled;  great  wrongs 
to  the  working  people  must  be  righted.  Wise  men 
are  at  the  helm.  The  sturdy  sons  of  toil  are  fast 
educating  themselves  to  the  justice  of  their  de- 
mands. 

“They  are  beginning  to  see,  and  vast  num- 
bers are  every  day  awakening  to  the  fact  that  the 
land,  the  government,  and  the  people  are  fast  drift- 
ing into  the  hands  of  the  few.  The  enterprise,  the 
industry,  the  resources,  the  government,  all  pass- 
ing rapidly  into  the  hands  of  avaricious  and 
all-grasping  monopolists,  who  would  soon  be 
able  to  bind  the  father  in  the  workshop  or 
mine,  the  mother  in  the  home,  the  child  in 
the  cradle,  to  eternal  ignorance  and  ceaseless 
toil. 

“In  these  facts  lie  the  primal  elements  of  a suc- 
cessful revolution.  It  is  already  on  its  wings,  and 


374 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


as  the  old  saw  runs,  ‘ revolutions  never  turn  back- 
ward.’ 

‘ ‘ Hope,  patience  and  perseverance  will  certainly 
find  their  reward.” 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR t 


375 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THE  FARMERS’  ALLIANCE. 

EARLY  STRUGGLES  OF  THE  FARMERS’  ALLIANCE  — ITS 
RULES ITS  PROGRESS ADVANTAGES  OF  CO-OPER- 
ATION   THE  TEXAS  CHARTER  — THE  NATIONAL  AL- 
LIANCE   PREAMBLE  EDUCATION  FUNDAMENTAL 

TO  GOOD  GOVERNMENT BUSINESS  MATTERS POL- 
ITICAL MATTERS GENERAL  REMARKS WOMEN  OF 

THE  ALLIANCE. 

Supply  is  always  regulated  by  the  demand,  and 
it  is  a fact  that  in  the  history  of  ages  long  past, 
when  tyranny  and  oppression  prevailed  and  honest 
men  were  groaning  beneath  the  yoke  and  earnest- 
ly desiring  a better  state  of  affairs  for  the  general 
welfare  of  humanity,  that  commensurate  with  the 
necessities  and  needs  has  come  the  redress  for 
those  wrongs  arising  out  of  the  evil  itself. 

The  first  settlers  in  Texas  had  endured  much  at 
the  hands  of  the  wealthy  cattle  kings  who  were  op- 
posed to  the  settlement  of  the  country,  and  acts  of 
outrage  had  often  been  perpetrated  upon  those  ear- 
ly settlers;  their  cattle  had  often  been  driven  off  by 
the  minions  of  those  wealthy  rangers,  and  other 


376 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


stock  taken  from  them  without  remuneration,  ard 
as  the  direct  result  of  these  outrages  came  the  Far- 
mers’ Alliance,  which  was  organized  in  1875,  in  the 
county  of  Lampasas,  Texas.  These  outrages  com- 
pelled the  common  farmers  of  moderate  means  to 
unite  and  confer  with  each  other  as  to  some  course 
to  be  adopted  for  self-protection;  and  as  the  result 
of  this  conference  came  the  Farmers’  Alliance, 
which  organized,  as  it  were,  by  magic.  Its  growth 
was  as  wonderful  and  surprising  as  its  origin.  In 
three  years,  with  very  little  effort,  it  had  permeated 
the  four  contiguous  outlying  counties.  But  like 
other  new  organizations,  it  was  destined  to  receive 
a blow,  as  circumstances  and  conflicting  interests 
conspired  to  merge  this  alliance  into  politics  which 
became  partisan  in  its  interests,  causing  divisions; 
and,  as  a “house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand,”  so  this  organization  was  brought  to  naught. 
But  in  the  year  1879,  one  W.  Baggett,  reorganized 
, an  Alliance  in  Texas,  at  Poolville  in  Parker  County, 
upon  the  foundation  stone  of  the  old  by-laws  and 
constitution. 

Some  of  the  names  of  these  brave  and  undaunt- 
ed men,  whose  frontier  life  had  eminently  fitted 
them  to  engage  in  so  noble  a work,  were  J.  N.  Sul- 
livan, Jeff.  Womack,  J.  H.  Montgomery,  G.  W. 
McKibbins,  I.  T.  Reeves,  and  many  other  self-sacrb 
ficing  men,  who,  inspired  by  right  and  proper  princi- 
ples, having  the  prosperity  of  the  producing  classes 
uppermost  in  their  minds,  and  a sincere  desire  to 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


377 


benefit  the  world  in  general,  have  bj  their  unwear- 
ied exertions  rendered  a valuable  service  to  all  who 
were  willing  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
accruing  from  the  Alliance. 

For  many  years  past  the  more  systematic  and  ad- 
vanced of  the  farming  communities  have  sought  to 
establish  an  agricultural  society  of  their  own,  and 
maintain  it  upon  a scientific  principle  and  basis. 
They  had  failed,  however,  in  consequence  of  a lack 
of  enterprise,  and  the  ignorance,  superstition  and 
prejudice  still  remaining  in  the  minds  of  the  more 
illiterate  portion  of  the  yeomanry  of  the  country 
whose  frontier  life  was  largely  responsible  for  their 
opposition  to  any  innovation  upon  the  process  es- 
tablished and  adhered  to  by  the  fossilized  represen- 
tatives of  the  old  and  nearly  obsolete  customs  of  a 
dogmatic  theory. 

But  under  the  control  and  guidance  of  self-sacri- 
ficing and  generous  individuals  who  dare  do  anything 
that  may  become  a man,  who  dared  even  to  do 
right  regardless  of  the  frowns  of  large  and  influen- 
tial monopolies,  this  Alliance  organized  at  Pool- 
ville,  July  29, 1879,  which  was  destined  — like  the 
stone  cut  from  the  mountain  by  power  divine  — be- 
cause of  its  principles  of  right  embodied,  to  roll  on 
and  fill  the  earth.  It  was  at  once  constituted  in  its 
incipiency  a non-political  and  non-partisan  brother- 
hood, whose  object  was  the  greatest  good  to  the 
horny-handed  sons  of  toil  who  had  borne  the  bur- 
den and  heat  of  the  day. 


378 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOK. 


Twelve  branch  or  sub-alliances  were  soon  estab- 
lished in  various  places  during  1879,  and  being  es- 
tablished upon  such  a principle  as  love  and  charity 
for  all,  with  malice  or  enmity  to  none,  its  founders 
confidently  looked  forward  to  ultimate  prosperity  and 
success;  and  to-day  in  this  “bounteous  birth-land 
of  the  free,”  the  songster  and  the  philosopher  laud, 
in  sermon  and  in  song,  the  virtues  of  these  untiring 
and  noble  men. 

The  principles  of  right  which  inspired  the  foun- 
ders o£  this  National  Alliance  to  earnest  and  per- 
severing endeavor,  should  be  graven  upon  the  tab- 
lets of  enduring  memory,  and  like  seed  scattered 
upon  good  ground,  find  a lodgment,  and  bring  forth 
fruit  one  hundred  fold  in  every  honest  heart. 

We  embody  the  following  rules  of  this  organiza- 
tion, which  must  stand  approved  by  every  lover  of 
humanity : 

1.  To  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agricultural 
classes,  in  the  science  of  economical  government, 
in  a strictly  non-partisan  spirit. 

2.  To  indorse  the  motto,  “in  things  essential, 
unity;  and  in  all  things,  charity. 

3.  To  develop  a better  state,  mentally,  morally, 
socially,  and  financially. 

4.  To  create  a better  understanding  for  sustain- 
ing civil  officers  in  maintaining  law  and  order. 

5.  To  constantly  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony 


C.  W.  MACUNE, 

President  National  Farmers’  Alliance. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


381 


and  good-will  among  all  mankind,  and  brotherly 
love  among  ourselves. 

6.  To  suppress  personal,  local,  sectional  and  na- 
tional  prejudices;  all  unhealthful  rivalry,  and  all 
sellish  ambition. 

7.  The  brightest  jewels  which  it  garners  are  the 
tears  of  widows  and  orphans,  and  its  imperative 
commands  are  to  visit  the  homes  where  lacerated 
hearts  are  bleeding;  to  assuage  the  sufferings  of  a 
brother,  or  a sister;  bury  the  dead;  care  for  the 
widows,  and  educate  the  orphans;  to  exercise  charity 
toward  offenders;  to  construe  words  and  deeds  in 
their  most  favorable  light,  granting  honesty  of  pur- 
pose, and  good  intentions  to  others;  and  to  protect 
the  principles  of  the  Alliance  unto  death. 

Its  laws  are  reason  and  equity,  its  cardinal  doc- 
trines inspire  purity  of  thought  and  life,  and  its  in- 
tentions are  “Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to 
men.” 

The  Farmers’  Alliance  built  upon  this  sure  foun- 
dation stone  of  equal  rights  to  all,  embraces  all  the 
grand  fundamental  principles  of  honest  government, 
without  which  no  honest  government  can  exist. 
The  close  relationship  of  families  and  the  fraternal 
clasping  of  hands,  as  a bond  of  friendship;  the  tri- 
bal relations  of  aboriginal  inhabitants,  were  organi- 
zations for  self-protection;  the  various  orthodox  re- 
ligious denominations  associate  for  mutual  benefit, 
both  socially  and  financially. 


382 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


Judging  from  the  success  of  the  organizations  to 
which  we  have  referred,  the  Farmers’  Alliance  en- 
trenched behind  the  impregnable  palisade  and  ad- 
amantine bulwarks  of  eternal  right  and  truth,  it 
needed  no  prophet’s  ken,  while  looking  through  the 
horoscope  of  her  future  as  a National  Alliance,  to 
predict  a prosperous  and  brilliant  career  in  its 
“work of  faith  and  labor  of  love, ’’which  “suffereth 
long  and  is  kind.”  From  our  little  Alliance  organ- 
ized at  Poolville,  it  now,  in  less  than  ten  years, 
numbers  hundreds  of  thousands;  and  in  its  ramifi- 
cations has  penetrated  and  permeated  the  entire 
land  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  froraa  the 
ice-bound  lakes  of  the  north,  to  the  flower-embossed 
banks  of  the  streams  of  the  sun-kissed  waters  of 
the  tropics. 

In  its  incipiency  it  was  said  of  this  Alliance: 
“Oh!  the  farmers  can  do  nothing,  as  the  issue  is 
between  capital  and  labor.”  We  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood  as  ignoring  capital — it  is  a necessity,  as 
also  is  labor.  They  are  contingent  one  upon  the 
other.  Capital  is  the  result  of  labor  and  economy. 
Capital  and  labor  are  brothers,  and  therefore  there 
should  exist  between  them  friendly  relations. 

The  Alliance  is  not  antagonistic  to  the  interests 
of  any  class  of  honest  men,  either  socially  or  finan- 
cially. The  sentiment  emulates  the  true  spirit  of 
order  which  underlies  the  cardinal  principles  of  jus- 
tice and  law,  both  human  and  divine.  Does  the 
purity  of  human  nature  find  pre-eminence  in  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


883 


present  age  outside  of  the  true  spirit  of  progress  in 
organization  and  advancement?  Usefulness  is  still 
trammeled  by  passion,  which  is  the  outgrowth  of 
ignorance  and  selfishness,  prejudice  and  bigotry, 
superstition  and  ignorance,  which  injure  society 
and  impede  progress  by  introducing  discordant  ele- 
ments. And  under  the  mild  rule  of  the  present  high 
order  of  American  civilization , we  still  have  a mor- 
bid condition  in  society,  which,  if  not  as  vicious,  is 
as  odious  as  that  which  has  characterized  the  annals 
of  the  past  century. 

To-day  the  intelligent  progressive  class  recognize, 
and  begin  to  realize,  the  advantages  of  hearty  co- 
operation. Some  have  their  boards  of  exchange; 
farmers  have  their  Alliance;  dairymen  their  unions: 
and  trade  and  labor  unions  meet  to  discuss  and  adopt 
measures  intended  for  their  mutual  protection  and 
prosperity.  We  bid  a hearty  God-speed  to  any  or- 
ganization intended  to  diffuse  general  knowledge, 
enlightening  the  ignorant,  dispelling  the  gaunt 
shadows  of  superstition,  and  taking  one  more  step 
toward  the  inauguration  of  that  period  when  on 
those  peace-crowned  heights  men  shall  beat  their 
swords  into  plow-shares,  and  their  spears  into  prun- 
ing hooks,  and  learn  war  no  more. 

The  higher  mankind  rises  in  the  scale  of  moral 
being,  the  less  will  they  be  inclined  to  oppress, 
wrong  or  injure  each  other. 

Opposition  and  difficulties  to  the  progress  of  the 
Alliance  proved  to  be  blessings  in  disguise.  The 


384 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


storm  and  persecution  it  received  at  the  hands  of 
its  enemies  had  only  the  effect  to  cause  its  founders 
to  dig  deep  and  lay  their  foundation  upon  a rock. 
Like  the  storm-bent  oak,  its  contact  with  the  dis- 
turbing element  only  caused  it  to  send  its  roots 
deeper  into  the  soil,  until  in  the  majesty  of  matu- 
rity it  may  now  bid  defiance  to  every  storm,  firmly 
anchored  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  America. 
They  who  went  forth  weeping  over  the  wrongs  per- 
petrated upon  the  innocent,  “ bearing  precious 
seed,”  have  now  come  with  rejoicing,  bringing 
their  sheaves  with  them,  fully  confident  of  success; 
and  knowing  the  justice  ot  their  cause,  came  to  the 
front  and  took  a bold  stand.  A meeting  was  con- 
vened at  the  court-house  in  Weatherford,  Parker 
County,  Texas,  July  7,  1881,  in  response  to  the  fol- 
lowing call: 

PUBLIC  MEETING. 

“The  undersigned  members  of  the  Farmers’  Al- 
liance desire  a meeting  of  the  business  men  of 
Weathersford,  and  citizens  of  the  town  generally, 
at  the  court-house  in  this  city  at  two  o’clock  p.  m. 
to-day,  in  order  to  fully  investigate  the  charges  of 
lawlessness  and  other  outrages  preferred  against 
the  order.  We  deny  the  assertions  made  by  the 
Weatherford  ‘ Times,’  charging  our  order  with 
improper  motives;  and  as- citizens  we  ask  the  co-op- 
eration of  all  good  people  in  a public  investigation 
of  this  matter.  We  respectfully  ask  the  attendance 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


385 


of  the  sheriff,  county  attorney  and  other  officers  of 
Parker  County.” 

The  call  was  signed  by  B.  G.  Gilliland,  J.  N.  Fra- 
zier, O.  G.  Peterson,  C.  M.  Wilcox,  T.  B.  Gil- 
liland, J.  W.  Caldwell,  W.  L.  Garvin,  K.  A. 
Patterson,  T.  C.  Ensey,  W.  T.  Culwell,  T.  N. 
Niblett,  E.  J.  Ensey,  J.  H.  Dover,  Andrew 
Dunlap,  and  S.  O.  Daws. 

B.  G.  Gilliland  called  the  meeting  to  order,  W. 
L.  Garvin  occupying  the  chair.  Andrew  Dunlap, 
by  request  of  the  members,  stated  the  purpose  for 
which  the  meeting  had  been  convened,  stating 
briefly  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating 
the  justice  of  their  cause;  also  to  show  the  injus- 
tice of  the  attack  and  the  malicious  falsehood  con- 
tained in  the  charge  through  the  columns  of  the 
Weatherford  “ Times.”  The  following  resolution 
was  then  submitted: 

“Resolved,  That  we  the  officers  and  represen- 
tative members  of  the  Farmers’  Alliance  do  allege 
that  the  statements  made  in  the  Weatherford 
‘Times’  of  June  25,  1881,  with  regard  to  the  Far- 
mers’ Alliance,  are  false  and  malicious.  We  do 
most  emphatically  deny  that  the  Alliance  as  a body 
recognizes  mob  law,  or  any  thing  else  that  is  not 
in  strict  accordance  with  the  laws  of  our  state,  from 
which  we  as  a body  hold  a legal  charter,  and  that 
the  order  of  the  Farmers’  Alliance  has  never  sanc- 
tioned or  authorized  any  individual  or  body  of  in- 
dividuals to  violate  the  laws  of  the  state  at  any 


386 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOE. 


time  or  place.  And  if  the  editor  of  the  4 Times,’ 
or  any  other  person,  will  apprise  the  Farmers’  Alli- 
ance of  the  fact  that  any  individual  member  has 
been  guilty  of  any  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  land, 
we  will  pledge  ourselves  to  the  expulsion  of  all  or 
any  such  members  from  our  order.” 

The  above  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  by 
the  Grand  State  Alliance,  and  was  adopted  by  the 
mass  meeting. 

Dr.  O.  G.  Peterson  then  submitted  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  meeting  the  following: 

“ Wheeeas,  the  editor  of  the  Weatherford  ‘Times’ 
has  made  repeated  attacks  upon  the  Farmers’  Alli- 
ance, as  a body,  through  the  columns  of  his  paper, 
and  sent  to  the  world  the  false  impression  that  a 
reign  of  terror  exists  in  the  counties  of  Parker,  Wise 
and  Jack,  on  account  of  mob  law  carried  out  by 
the  said  Farmers’  Alliance; 

“We  the  members  of  the  Alliance  and  citizens  of 
Parker  County,  Texas,  in  mass  meeting  assembled 
at  the  court-house,  in  the  city  of  Weatherford,  do 
most  emphatically  deny  that  any  such  state  of  af- 
fairs, as  named  and  charged  by  said  editor,  exists; 
and  we  do  hereby  challenge  said  editor  to  produce 
proof  of  the  statements  made  by  him  through  the 
columns  of  his  paper.” 

It  was  evident  that  the  Alliance  had  scored  one 
and  made  a favorable  impression  upon  the  audience 
who  were  willing  to  know  the  truth.  Indeed,  Judge 
Richards  arose  and  in  scathing  and  well-chosen 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


387 


words,  uttered  his  supreme  contempt  for  a man  so 
void  of  principle  or  honor,  who  would  attempt  to 
tarnish  the  reputation  of  men  engaged  in  so  com- 
mendable a work. 

TEXAS  CHARTER. 

The  State  of  Texas,  County  of  Parker: 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  we,  L.  S. 
Tackitt,  J.  H.  Dover,  and  G.  M.  Plumlee,  citizens 
of  the  state  and  county  aforesaid,  and  such  others 
as  they  may  hereafter  associate  with  them,  have 
heretofore — to  wit:  on  the  12th  day  of  August, 
1880 — formed  themselves,  with  J.  N.  Montgomery, 
J.  C.  Gilliland,  J.  S.  Welch,  William  Thompson  and 
others,  into  an  association  and  organization  under 
the  name  of  “ Farmers’  Alliance,”  said  association 
being  formed  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  agri- 
culture, horticulture,  and  to  suppress  personal,  local, 
sectional  and  national  prejudices,  and  all  unhealthy 
rivalry  and  selfish  ambition.  The  business  of  said 
corporation  is  to  be  transacted  in  the  city  of  Weath- 
erford, county  and  state  aforesaid.  The  term  of  ex^ 
istence  of  this  association  is  fixed  at  twenty-five 
years  from  August  12,  1880. 

The  Trustees,  to-wit: — J.  H.  Dover,  W.  T.  Bag- 
gett, and  L.  S.  Tackitt,  residents  of  Parker  County, 
were  duly  elected  for  the  first  year  ending  August 
12,  1881. 

“Said  society  has  no  capital  stock,  and  the  esti- 


388  THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 

mated  value  of  the  goods,  chattels,  lands,  rights  and 
credit,  owned  by  said  association,  is  fifty  dollars.” 

The  following  persons  were  elected  officers  for 
twelve  months:  President,  J.  Montgomery;  vice- 
president,  W.  T.  Baggett;  secretary,  J.  H.  Dover; 
assistant  secretary,  J.  C.  Gilliland;  lecturer,  L.  G. 
Oxford;  assistant  lecturer,  A.  Dunlap;  treasurer, 
J.  W.  Sullivan;  doorkeeper,  J.  S.  Welch;  assistant 
doorkeeper,  Wm.  Thompson. 

In  witness  whereof,  we,  as  citizens  of  the  state 
of  Texas,  have  on  this  6th  day  of  October,  1880, 
subscribed  our  names. 

L.  S.  Tackitt. 

[Signed.]  J.  H.  Dover. 

G.  M.  Plumlee. 

The  State  of  Texas,  County  of  Parker: 

Before  me,  J.  M.  Richards,  judge  of  the  county 
court  of  Parker  County,  State  of  Texas. 

This  day  personally  appeared  L.  S.  Tackitt,  J. 
H.  Dover  and  G.  M.  Plumlee,  citizens  of  Texas,  to 
me  personally  known,  and  acknowledged  that  they 
signed  the  above  and  foregoing  instrument  of  writ- 
ing after  the  contents  of  the  same  had  been  fully 
made  known  to  them,  and  that  they  voluntarily 
signed  the  same  for  the  purposes  and  associations 
therein  expressed. 

In  witness  whereof  I have  hereto  signed  my 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


389 


name  and  set  my  seal  of  office  this  6th  day  of  Oc- 
tober, 1880. 

[Signed.]  J.  M.  Richards, 

County  Judge,  Parker  Co.,  Texas. 

The  State  of  Texas,  Department  of  State. 

I hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a true  copy 
of  the  original  charter  of  the  Farmers’  Alliance  of 
Parker  County,  with  the  indorsement  thereon,  now 
on  file  in  this  department. 

Witness  my  official  signature  and  the  seal  of 
state,  at  the  city  of  Austin,  the  9th  day  of  October, 
A.  D.,  1880. 

[Seal  of  State.]  T.  H.  Bowman. 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


ORGANIZING  THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE  AT  SHREVEPORT, 
AND  THE  DECLARATION  OF  PURPOSES  OF  THE 
farmers’  ALLIANCE  AND  CO-OPERA- 
TIVE UNION  OF  AMERICA. 

PREAMBLE. 

Whereas,  the  wealth,  strength  and  permanency 
of  a government  depends  mainly  on  the  prosperity 
and  success  of  its  agriculture  and  labor,  and  in 
these  being  kept  in  a healthy  state,  lies  the  vigorous 
germ  of  all  true  patriotism,  and  that  pure  and  ele- 


390 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOE. 


vated  moral  sentiment,  necessary  to  vitalize  and 
keep  in  active  operation  the  principles  and  teach- 
ings that  alone  can  preserve  and  perpetuate  repub, 
lican  institutions,  and  the  blessings  of  human  liber 
ty;  and, 

Wheeeas,  one  of  the  prime  objects  of  good  gov- 
ernment, should  be  to  promote  the  intelligence,  loy- 
alty and  conservatism  of  its  citizens,  and  afford 
them  the  highest  possible  facilities  for  securing  and 
enjoying  the  full  measure  of  liberty,  prosperity  and 
happiness;  and, 

Wheeeas,  viewing  with  alarm  the  tendency  in 
this  government  to  reverse  these  cardinal  condi- 
tions— a republican  form  of  government  and  a free 
and  prosperous  people  — by  the  concentration  of 
its  wealth  and  power  in  the  hands  of  a few,  to  the 
impoverishment  and  bondage  of  the  many,  and  the 
rapid  growth  of  centralization  and  aristocracy;  and, 

Wheeeas,  believing  further,  that  the  overthrow 
and  certain  destruction  of  the  growing  and  menac- 
ing dangers  to  the  institutions  of  the  country  and 
the  liberties  of  the  people  depend  on  agitation,  ed- 
ucation and  co-operation,  carried  on  by  the  means 
of  thorough  organization  of  the  masses,  and  espec- 
ially of  the  agricultural  and  laboring  classes,  estab- 
lished upon  just  and  correct  principles,  non-partisan 
and  non-sectarian  in  character,  with  clear  and  well 
defined  objects  and  purposes. 

Thekefoee,  we,  the  Farmers’  Alliance,  and  Co- 
operative Union  of  America,  in  national  conven- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


391 


tion  assembled;  in  order  better  to  protect  our  or- 
ganization and  meet  the  necessities  of  our  class 
and  a public  want,  adopt  these  resolutions;  and, 

Whereas,  believing  that  if  these  baneful  influ- 
ences and  tendencies  are  not  checked  and  over- 
come, they  will  subvert  the  government,  destroy 
its  form  and  spirit,  and  in  the  end  utterly  impover- 
ish and  enslave  the  people. 

We  therefore  publish  and  adopt  the  following 
declaration  of  purposes: 

EDUCATION. 

Regarding  the  education  of  the  people  as  funda- 
mental to  good  government,  in  sustaining  its  insti- 
tutions and  multiplying  its  blessings,  as  well  as  an 
essential  qualification  for  accomplishing  our  pur- 
poses, we  shall  at  all  times  advance  and  encourage 
it  in  the  highest  possible  degree  among  farmers 
and  laborers,  and  their  children,  by  every  means 
in  our  power.  Through  the  means  of  investigation 
and  discussion  in  our  Alliance  meetings,  our  press 
and  public  speakers;  we  propose  to  examine  the  va- 
rious methods  and  systems  of  education  in  use, 
with  the  view  to  determine  the  best  adapted  to  the 
wants  and  conditions  of  the  agricultural  and  labor- 
ing classes;  believing  the  correct  theory,  when  es- 
tablished, will  enhance  the  moral,  physical  and  in- 
dustrial, as  well  as  the  mental  culture  of  our  chil- 
dren in  every  grade  of  schools;  that  this  system 
will  strengthen  the  attachment  of  these  classes  to 


392 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


their  profession  instead  of  alienating  them  from  it, 
as  the  prevailing  methods  have  a tendency  to  do; 
that  it  will  better  qualify  them  for  success  and  hap- 
piness in  life;  will  render  the  farm  and  shop  more 
attractive  and  remunerative;  give  the  means  and 
time  for  more  general  thought  and  useful  study;  in- 
crease the  opportunity  and  inclination  to  adorn  the 
home  and  practice  the  social  virtues,  broaden  the 
sphere  of  their  knowledge  and  usefulness  and  give 
character  and  influence  to  husbandry  and  labor; 
and  for  these  reasons  we  are  especially  friendly  to 
industrial  education,  and  shall  labor  to  advance 
and  build  up  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  schools 
of  the  country,  by  extending  to  them  every  possi- 
ble encouragement  and  support  in  our  power. 

BUSINESS  MATTEKS. 

In  business  matters  we  believe  the  prevailing 
system  is  in  many  particulars  wrong,  and  that  be- 
tween the  producer  and  consumer,  the  buyer  and 
seller,  the  methods  should  be  changed,  the  process 
shortened  and  expenses  reduced.  Plans  should  be 
adopted  that  will  more  justly  and  satisfactorily  dis- 
tribute profits,  and  give  to  labor  a fair  share  of  its 
earnings.  We  believe  that  in  co-operation,  a rem- 
edy may  be  found  for  most  of  the  evils  and  inequal- 
ities growing  out  of  the  methods  now  in  use;  that 
in  co-operation  exists,  as  we  believe,  fairness  and 
equity;  that  when  well  understood,  and  closely  ob- 
served, its  principles,  by  intelligent  and  honest  man- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


393 


agement,  may  be  successfully  applied  to  most,  if 
not  all,  the  business  pursuits  and  enterprises  of  the 
country;  that  it  possesses  the  elementary  forces  for 
solving  the  vexed  question  of  capital  and  labor,  and 
for  breaking  the  power  of  monopoly;  and,  hence, 
we  shall  urge  the  study  and  practice  of  co-operation 
in  the  Alliance,  as  a mighty  lever  that  will  lift  the 
burdens  and  weight  from  labor  and  the  productive 
industries  of  the  country  that  lie  with  such  crushing 
force  upon  them,  and  by  which  the  possibilities  of 
the  Alliance  for  carrying  out  its  good  work  may  be 
increased  and  strengthened. 

POLITICAL  MATTERS. 

Without  disturbing  political  party  lines  or  party 
affiliations,  or  provoking  partisan  feelings  or  strife, 
we  shall  boldly  enter  into  the  discussion  and  inves- 
tigation of  all  laws,  public  measures,  and  govern- 
mental policies  that  have  a direct  or  remote  bearing 
on  the  productive  industries  of  the  country,  and  its 
welfare  in  general;  approving  the  good  and  con- 
demning the  bad,  and  offering  through  the  ballot 
and  other  means  in  our  reach,  such  remedies  for 
existing  evils  and  threatening  dangers  as  we  believe 
the  public  interest  demands.  We  shall  teach  un- 
falteringly hostility  to  all  class  legislation,  the  tyran- 
ny and  oppression  of  monopoly,  excessive  taxation, 
the  lavish  expenditures  of  public  money,  and  to 
every  species  of  wrong  and  abuses  practiced  in  gov- 
ernment affairs.  We  shall  denounce  and  expose 


394 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


fraud  and  corruption  in  official  places  whenever 
discovered,  no  matter  from  what  source  they  may 
emanate.  We  shall  encourage  and  strive  to  increase 
the  facilities  among  ourselves  for  a closer  study  and 
better  understanding  of  the  organisms,  powers  and 
purposes  of  government;  more  attention  to  the  laws 
of  the  country,  both  local  and  general,  the  better  to 
understand  their  scope  and  meaning,  their  influence 
on  society  and  the  public  good;  and  thus  educate 
ourselves  in  the  science  of  economical  government, 
elevate  the  standard  of  citizenship,  and  qualify  our- 
selves, without  bias,  to  judge  correctly  of  the  merits 
of  candidates  for  office  and  their  efficiency  after 
elected.  Then  we  shall  co-operate  with  them  in  the 
execution  of  the  law,  that  it  may  be  respected,  or- 
der maintained  and  society  improved. 

IN  GENERAL. 

We  shall  discourage  law-suits  and  litigation  be- 
tween members  of  the  order,  and  shall  teach  and 
insist  that  all  differences  and  misunderstandings 
should  be  settled  and  adjusted  by  arbitration  in  the 
Alliance.  In  general,  we  shall  strive  to  cement  our 
brotherhood  in  the  closest  bonds  of  a common  in- 
terest, and  perpetuate  our  order  by  frequently  meet- 
ing together  on  all  matters  that  relate  to  our  mental, 
moral,  social  and  financial  interest;  and  to  educate, 
train  and  discipline  ourselves  to  work  together  in 
carrying  out  the  laudable  objects  of  our  order. 

We  shall  teach  and  strive  to  induce  our  member- 


From  a photograph  of  the  largest  Orange  Tree  in  Florida.  Measures 
8 feet  6 inches  at  base,  is  37  feet  high,  and  has  a crop  of  over  9,000  sweet 
Oranges  hanging  on  its  houghs.  The  fruit  from  this  tree  brings  from  $150 
to  every  yea**-  Situated  near  Waldo,  on  the  Transit  R.  £. 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


397 


ship  to  act  upon  the  important  truth,  that  no  great 
undertaking  and  reform  like  the  Alliance  movement 
can  be  successful  without  a clear  understanding  of 
its  principles,  purposes  and  plans,  and  an  earnest 
and  intelligent  devotion  to  the  cause;  that  harmony 
of  feeling  and  action,  coupled  with  a persistent  ef- 
fort, based  upon  the  great  central  thought  or  funda- 
mental idea,  that  in  things  essential  there  should  be 
unity,  and  in  all  things  charity  and  brotherly  kind- 
ness to  one  another,  and  good  will  to  all  mankind, 
are  necessary  to  insure  strength,  influence  and  Anal 
triumph  to  our  cause;  that  the  evils  of  which  we 
complain  and  the  condition  we  would  improve  are 
the  growth  of  many  years,  aided  largely  by  class 
legislation,  and  that  it  will  require  bold  efforts  and 
long  and  continuous  struggles  to  change  and  better 
them;  that  it  must  be  accomplished  largely  through 
a change  of  public  sentiment  produced  by  agitation, 
that  will  arouse  and  enlighten  the  masses;  and  that 
we  shall  constantly  strive  to  suppress  personal,  lo- 
cal, sectional  and  national  prejudices:  all  unhealth- 
ful rivalry  and  all  selfish  ambition,  and  teach  that, 
as  citizens  of  one  government,  we  should  feel  a 
common  interest  in  its  affairs;  and  that  our  patriot- 
ism and  good  will  for  one  another  should  not  be 
measured  by  sections  or  geographical  lines,  to  suit 
the  purposes  of  politicians. 

By  our  frequent  meetings  we  confidently  believe 
we  shall  be  able  to  break  up  the  isolated  habits  of 
farmers, improve  their  social  condition,  increase  their 


398 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


social  pleasures,  and  strengthen  their  confidence  in 
and  friendships  for  each  other. 

We  propose  to  make  the  study  and  improvement 
of  practical  agriculture  in  all  its  branches  a part  of 
the  mission  of  the  Alliance,  that  its  standard  may 
be  elevated,  its  profits  increased,  and  its  followers 
made  more  prosperous  and  contented. 

We  shall  encourage  more  diversity  of  farming; 
the  production  of  less  cotton,  and  more  grain  and 
meat;  selling  less  raw  material,  and  more  in  manu- 
factured articles. 

In  our  meetings  and  through  our  press  we  shall 
discuss  and  examine  into  the  best  and  most  approv- 
ed methods  of  farming;  the  preparation  of  the  soil; 
planting,  cultivation,  harvesting,  handling  and  mar- 
keting of  crops,  farm  and  agricultural  products  gen- 
erally. Also  the  raising  of  stock,  dairying,  fruit- 
growing, gardening;  and,  in  short,  every  branch  of 
agriculture  that  goes  to  make  up  a full  line  of  farm- 
ing, and  render  it  pleasant  and  profitable. 

Through  our  Alliance,  we  shall  endeavor  to  fur- 
nish facilities  for,  and  shall  encourage  the  study  of 
the  laws  of  business  and  trade,  the  best  methods 
for  buying  and  selling,  and  the  transaction  of  all 
kinds  of  business  it  m?y  be  found  desirable  for 
farmers  and  laborers  t -ugage  in;  and  under  all 
circumstances  we  shall  Ascourage  the  credit 
system. 

We  propose  to  attend  to  our  own  business  affairs 
in  our  own  way,  and  make  no  fight  against  any  le- 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


399 


gitimate  business;  but  we  shall  oppose  methods 
found  to  be  contrary  to  justice  and  equity. 

Believing  that  a strict  observance  and  practice  of 
these  teachings,  principles  and  purposes  will  insure 
our  success,  we  submit  our  cause  to  a fair  and  im- 
partial public,  invoking  the  blessing  of  Heaven 
upon  our  undertaking. 

WOMEN  OF  THE  ALLIANCE. 

The  grand  secret  of  unprecedented  success  of  the 
Farmers’  Alliance  has  been  the  subject  of  much  . 
comment,  and  finally  it  has  been  conceded  that  one 
of  the  most  efficient  and  prime  factors  in  building 
up  this  institution  is  the  admission  of  women  to 
full  membership,  making  them  eligible  to  fill  any 
office  in  connection  with  the  Alliance.  And  why 
should  it  not  be  so  ? When  God  placed  man  in  his 
Eden,  he  saw  it  was  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone, 
and  the  first  man’s  happiness  was  incomplete  until 
woman  was  admitted  as  a member  of  that  first 
family  circle,  and  since  then  she  has  ever  held  her 
place  in  the  most  responsible  relations  in  life.  Could 
man  expect  to  prosper  in  any  kind  of  enterprise, 
society  or  Alliance  who  would  advocate  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  the  mother  of 
his  children,  from  any  association  or  Alliance  which 
has  for  its  object  the  happiness,  prosperity  and  gen- 
eral good  of  our  common  humanity  founded  upon 
right  and  proper  principles? 

It  is  an  evidence  of  semi-barbarism,  or  a low 


400  THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 

state  of  civilization  that  does  not  accord  to  woman 
her  right,  in  placing  her  on  an  equal  with  man. 
Many,  and  most  of  the  correct  and  honorable,  as 
well  as  the  most  successful  business  transactions  a 
mail  ever  engaged  in  are  those  in  which  he  has  been 
guided  by  the  advice  of  his  wife.  And  with  woman 
as  an  ally,  what  wonder  if  prosperity  and  success 
unprecedented  has  attended  the  Farmers’  Alli- 
ance. 

That  voice  which  first  fell  in  bird-like  melody 
upon  the  ear  of  man,  sounds  equally  as  sweet  when 
raised  in  denouncing  the  evils  of  monopoly  and  op- 
pression. The  refining  and  purifying  influences  re 
ceived  from  the  society  of  pure  and  noble  woman- 
hood are  more  potent  for  good  than  the  pulpit  or 
the  press.  The  gentle  hand  that  soothes  by  its 
magic  touch  the  fevered  brow  of  stricken  humanity 
can  wield  the  pen  mightier  than  the  sword.  For 
the  “hand  that  rocks  the  cradle  sways  the  world.” 

United  effort  and  hearty  co-operation  now  is  all 
that  is  necessary  for  the  Farmers’  Alliance  in  order 
that  her  banner  may  proudly  wave  till  the  victor’s 
wreath  shall  crown  their  noble  and  united  efforts; 
till  from  the  ranks  of  intelligent  toilers  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  shall  come  noble  men  to  take  their 
place  in  the  senate-chamber  and  legislative  halls  of 
Congress  and  raise  their  voice  against  oppression 
and  injustice. 

We  urge  our  brethren  ol  the  Alliance  to  united 
and  untiring  efforts,  regardless  of  any  form  of 


THE  VOICE  OF  LABOR. 


401 


party  politics,  stand  side  by  side  in  the  rank  of  the 
noble  men  of  our  Alliance  until  monopoly  shall 
hide  in  shame  its  cruel  head,  and  victory  be  in* 
scribed  upon  our  banners,  remembering  that 
“eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty.” 


